No One Else Compares
by warblingaway
Summary: Kurt Hummel met Rachel Anderson-Berry his first day of high school. And, if asked, Kurt Hummel would say that no, he never expected her younger brother, Blaine, to ever become his boyfriend. Anderberry. Klaine.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. So if you know me and know my writings, you'll know that I write a series of drabbles involving Anderberry. Now practically everyone has been begging me to write a WIP, and I got an idea and it just hit me and...**

**Yes. So here it is.**

**I hope you enjoy it. And if not...well, I'll just make this chapter a drabble.**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Kurt Hummel remembers the day he met Rachel Anderson-Berry more vividly than he remembers anything else in his 18 years of living.<p>

The same Kurt Hummel would also deny ever wanting to know the girl before his first day of high school.

And, if asked, Kurt Hummel would say that no, he didn't know that Rachel had a brother named Blaine.

If asked, Kurt would agree that yes, he would never have guessed that his best friend's little brother, Blaine Anderson-Berry, would eventually become his boyfriend.

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><p>Kurt Hummel didn't have a clue what high school would be like. He didn't know if he would ever make any friends. He didn't know what kind of crowd he would fit in.<p>

But one thing he did know was that there were bound to be some people who wouldn't accept him.

So fourteen year old Kurt Hummel shouldered his bag and walked into McKinley High with his head held high. Having come from the more elite class of his middle school, Kurt only recognized a few students here and there, none of them even bothering to give him a small nod.

Well, that was one way to start the year.

And then there were the all-mighty students who had ruled middle school. He recognized Noah Puckerman – the resident bad boy who had picked on Kurt the few times they'd actually been in the same classroom.

And then there were others like Rachel Anderson-Berry, who he talked to all of four times and he already wanted to tape her mouth closed. She apparently had 'a voice to die for.' Or so he'd heard from their previous music teachers.

Kurt glanced down at the sheet of paper gripped tightly in his hand, searching for the right locker that matched the number on the paper.

He glanced around, noting that he must have hit the freshman hallway since most of the students had decreased in size by a good two feet.

The key word in that sentence being 'most.'

He cringed as he saw David Karofsky, jeering with a group of boys similar to his burly size. Kurt ducked his head and tried not to draw attention to himself – thanking his father for suggesting he wear something more down low than his original designer outfit he had on earlier that day.

Luckily, the burly boys didn't seem to notice him, and Kurt continued walking down the hallway in search for his locker.

He eventually found it, smiling as he opened it and started to place his books and the little magnets he bought in it. He peeled his jacket off and gently placed it on the hook, grinning at how organized it looked once it was all put away.

"Hi," a voice said in his ear.

Kurt turned to see none other than Rachel Anderson-Berry standing behind him, her hand held out and a wide grin on her face.

"I'm Rachel," she said quickly, "I know we've met before but I couldn't help but notice that you weren't talking to anyone, and I don't really know anyone either so I thought that maybe talking to you would be a good idea. After all, I have two gay dads so –"

"Wait," Kurt cut the rapidly talking girl off, his eyes widening. "What does us being friends have to with your gay dads?"

"Well, I'm assuming you're –"

Kurt's eyes widened and he clamped his hand over the girl's mouth, shutting his locker and dragging her into the girls' bathroom before she could say anything more. He kept his hand in place as he checked under all of the stalls, only releasing her once he was positive the bathroom was empty.

" – gay," Rachel finished. "And don't be freaked out. I have exceptional gaydar. After all, living with two dads and a gay brother will do that to you."

Kurt's eyes widened again. How did this girl _know _he was gay when _he'd_ only known for sure that previous summer?

"You can't tell anyone," he whispered, his eyes wide as he gripped the girl's hands. "Please, Rachel. I haven't even come out to my dad yet."

Rachel nodded. "Don't worry," she said seriously. "It took my brother forever to come out to my dads. And they're _gay. _He shouldn't even have thought of it as a big deal or that they wouldn't understand."

Kurt chuckled, but his mind was whirling. In all of the years he'd vaguely known Rachel Anderson-Berry, he didn't know she had a brother.

"If you're wondering why you've never met him, it's because he started going to private school in sixth grade," Rachel explained. "He – well, he was getting picked on a lot at our old school, so my dads sent him to boarding school so he'd be safe."

Again, not for the first time in the past five minutes, Kurt wondered why Rachel was telling him all this.

"So, basically what I'm trying to say is that I have a soft spot for gays, and since I now know for a fact that you're gay –"

"Wait," Kurt interrupted her once again. He had a feeling it wasn't something that was easily doable, and yet he'd managed to do it several times within their conversation. "You weren't _sure _about whether or not I was gay?"

"Well, no," Rachel shrugged. "I couldn't be sure unless you told me. After all, my dads have told me about how many of their hags used to think they were straight and –"

"Hags?" Kurt quipped. "What are you _talking _about?"

"Ohmygod, _Kurt,"_ Rachel sighed, exasperated, her hands now gripping Kurt's shoulders. "_This _is why you're becoming my friend. So that I can teach you about everything there is to know about gays."

_She's insane, _Kurt thought. _Get away while you can._

But . . . it felt nice for someone to know what he'd been keeping inside the whole summer. This girl – as strange as it, as _she, _was – she understood, at least on some level.

"So," Rachel went on. "You're going to come over on Friday, and you can meet my dads. I don't think my brother'll be home – he's a year behind us so he's still in middle school."

_Great, _Kurt thought, _I've made a friend who has an annoying middle school brother._

"Rachel, slow down," Kurt insisted, having a hard time keeping up with the girl's quick talking. "We're friends now?"

Rachel nodded vigorously. "Of course," she stated, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "And our friendship starts today."

"Wait," Kurt said again, probably for the hundredth time during their conversation. "Are you only befriending me because I'm –" he lowered his voice, still afraid to say it out loud. "– gay?"

"No!" Rachel replied immediately. "I mean, that definitely has something to do with it, but we would have become friends eventually, I'm sure. Everyone says you have a really good voice, so we would have become competitive friends eventually."

Kurt looked at the girl with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe that this was happening or that this girl was real.

"So," Rachel continued. "I'll see you Friday, mmkay?"

Kurt nodded slowly, watching as the girl got a pleased look on her face before she turned and walked out of the bathroom.

"I don't know what the hell just happened," Kurt said to himself as he turned to fix his bangs in the mirror. "But I'm sure I'll regret it."

He sighed and walked out of the bathroom, wondering what else this day had in store for him.

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><p>Unfortunately, the rest of Kurt's day didn't go as well as the beginning had. It was still equal on the strange factor, but it definitely wasn't as pleasant.<p>

If he could even call his little run in with Rachel Anderson-Berry pleasant.

Kurt was walking down the hallway, clutching his books to his chest as he tried to find his next class. He gripped his map tightly in his hand as he studied it, glancing around every now and then to make sure he was going to right way.

However, something on one of the bulletin boards caught his eye.

_Glee Club._

There was only one name on the list – which of course was Rachel's.

Kurt looked around once before quickly signing his name. He walked away from the board slowly, as if he hadn't been there at all.

Kurt had always liked to sing. His mother had always used to sing to him, and once he was old enough to sing along she would always tell him that he would grow up to have a beautiful voice.

And he did – he knew he did. But it was just that – well, his voice was a little _high _for a boy his age. Granted, maybe he just hadn't hit puberty yet, but all the other boys his age were no longer able to sing the soprano parts.

So Kurt was just assuming that he was going to be a countertenor. And he didn't have a problem with that.

But he knew some people would.

Even before Kurt himself knew he was gay, the bullies would throw slurs at him. Heck, they were making fun of him even before he knew what those words meant.

So of course he knew that people wouldn't take his singing voice well. But he knew that, if he were to join Glee Club, the people in there wouldn't make fun of him. Singers appreciated a good voice, no matter what it sounded like or who sang it.

"What did you just sign up for, Hummel?"

Kurt whizzed around, his eyes going wide. He saw David Karofsky and some other burly boy whose name he couldn't place walking up to him.

"Leave me alone, Karofsky," Kurt said, his voice low and stern. "We're out of middle school now. You can act your age."

"Well why don't you sound your age then, huh Hummel?" Karofsky jeered back, knocking fists with the boy beside him. "This is Azimio. We met today."

Kurt gulped at the two boys and slowly started to back up. He considered turning around and running, but he knew that would only make it worse.

He glanced around once, noting that the hallways were now empty. The bell must have rung a while ago, meaning that there would be no witnesses if these boys were to kill him.

But he doubted they could kill him. They weren't _that _much bigger than him, and Kurt _had _played soccer for a week during that summer when his dad had sent him to soccer camp.

That definitely wasn't enough to reassure him though. He watched as they approached him, the cup of slushie Karofsky was clutching in his hand suddenly catching his attention.

No. God no. He'd heard about this. This was basically the horror story told to all the middle schoolers who ever got picked on.

The slushie machine from hell, was what it was referred to.

"You ready for this, Hummel?" Karofsky jeered. "You'll be my first slushie facial."

Kurt stopped walking and closed his eye, clenching his fists against his books and bracing himself for what he knew was coming.

And then he felt the cold ice hitting his face, his eyes stinging immediately. He raised his hand up to wipe it away from his eyes, which only made the burning worse. Kurt cringed and felt the liquid sticking to his face, wincing as he tasted the purple corn syrup.

"That's what you get, Hummel," Karofsky jeered, his voice sounding farther away, giving Kurt hope that he and his minion were leaving. "We'll see you around."

Kurt stood there for another moment before opening up his eyes, whimpering a little as the liquid stung them even more. He ran to the bathroom, the tears already flowing out of his eyes.

This was supposed to have stopped in middle school. It wasn't supposed to have gotten worse.

But now that he thought about it, whenever he'd asked his dad if it would get better he would always avoid answering.

He slowly washed the frozen liquid off of his face, cringing as he tried to work it out of his hair. God, it was going to _ruin _his skin. Maybe he would start a nightly skin routine if this became a daily occurrence.

Once it was washed off of his skin and mostly out of his clothing – minus the big purple stain – Kurt sat down on the ground.

And he honestly never felt so alone.

He dropped his head into his knees and continued to cry, clutching his bag beside him, hoping that maybe it could somehow provide him with a source of comfort.

Kurt chuckled wetly to himself. This was pathetic. He was looking to his bag for comfort.

And he never imagined that his school life could get any worse than it had in middle school.

Apparently he was wrong.

Kurt sat there until the next bell rang, and even then he didn't make to get up. He didn't want to go back out there with purple stains all over his clothes. Everyone would know what happened, and then he'd be humiliated as well as slightly terrified.

So he stayed on the bathroom floor, wincing slightly when he heard the door open and hoped that whoever it was wouldn't notice him or would just leave him alone.

But no. Of_ course _it had to be Rachel Berry-Anderson.

"Kurt!" She cried when she saw him, squatting down beside where he was sitting against the wall. "You weren't in our last class. We apparently have English together."

Kurt nodded stiffly, refusing to meet her eyes. He felt the tears welling up in his eyes again, and he wanted to just tell the damn girl because at least she actually cared about him, on some level.

"Anyway, you should probably get going and –" Rachel cut off once she noticed Kurt's stained shirt and his puffy eyes. "What happened?" She sat down beside him and looked at him with concern written all over her face.

"Karofsky," Kurt mustered out, the tears now falling on his cheeks again. "It's apparently called a slushie facial."

Rachel sighed and dug around in her purse for a moment. She pulled out her phone a moment later and pushed a few buttons before holding it to her ear.

"Daddy?" She said into the receiver. "Yes, I'm fine but – Yes, daddy, I said I was fine, but my friend . . ." Rachel told one of her fathers what happened before shutting her phone and turning back to Kurt.

"Come on," Rachel said as she stood up. "We're leaving."

"But – But school's not over," Kurt said as she grabbed his hand.

"We're leaving," Rachel stated again as she picked up his stuff and started dragging him out of the bathroom. "One of my dads will be here in a few minutes."

"We're going to your house?" Kurt asked, his eyebrows raising as the two made her way out of the school.

Rachel nodded and sat down on the bench outside of the school, waiting for her dad to show up. "I can't imagine you want to go home and explain this to your dad if you haven't even come out to him yet," she said. "So you can clean up at my place."

Kurt nodded and sat down next to her, a small smile playing on his lips.

It seemed like this friendship with Rachel Anderson-Berry might actually work out.

A minivan pulled up next to them a few minutes later, the back door opening. "Hop in!" The man called from inside. Rachel smiled and climbed in the front, gesturing for Kurt to get in the back.

"So you're Kurt?" The man asked.

Kurt nodded shyly, his eyes looking at the floor of the car. "Thank you so much, sir," Kurt said.

"If there's anyone that understands, it's me," the man said. "And you can call me Hiram, kid."

Kurt nodded but didn't say anything.

"Daddy," Rachel said a moment later. "I signed up for Glee Club today!"

"Didya, pumpkin?" The man said, grinning at his daughter.

"My audition is Thursday," Rachel went on.

The two continued chatting all the way to Rachel's house, where she abruptly jumped out and opened Kurt's door for him.

"Come on," she said. "You can shower and I can give you some of Blaine's clothes. You two should pretty much be the same size.

"Oh, Rachel," her father called, but Rachel just waved him off and dragged Kurt into the house.

The inside of Rachel's house was fabulous, and that was coming from Kurt.

"Wow," Kurt breathed as he looked around. "This is amazing."

Rachel shrugged and sat him down at the dining room table. "Stay here," she instructed. "I'm going to get you a snack."

Rachel shuffled out of the room, leaving Kurt to take in the surroundings alone.

It was just outstanding.

"That's what happens when you have two gay dads."

Kurt's head whizzed around at the voice, which was definitely _not _Rachel's.

He turned to see a boy around his are, his hair slicked back and his hazel eyes practically glowing.

Kurt felt his mouth go dry, for reasons that were unknown to him.

The boy came further into the dining room and sat at the table across from Kurt.

"Skipping school with my sister?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at Kurt.

"Umm . . . no," Kurt replied after the initial shock wore off. "I – uh – I –"

"What?" The boy snickered. "Don't want to admit to her brother that you're her new boyfriend or something?"

If Kurt would have been drinking something, he would have spit it at the boy sitting across from him.

"Umm, no," Kurt replied, his eyes wide. "It isn't like that at all, actually."

"Well then what is it?" The boy asked. "I think I have a right to know, considering I live here and all."

Kurt sighed and met the boy's hazel gaze again. "Look," Kurt said slowly. "I had a little incident at school because some jocks don't approve of me."

The cocky expression on the boy's face instantly was wiped off. "What do you mean?"

Kurt sighed and ran a hand through his already messed up hair. "They threw a slushie at me," he whispered. "And in the past they've – they've called me some names."

His eyes widened and he leaned forward a little bit. "Are you…?"

Kurt nodded, the boy not needing to finish his sentence. "I haven't officially come out or anything," he said quietly. "But apparently some people can just tell. Take Rachel for example."

"Wait," Kurt said after a moment. "You're Blaine."

Blaine smiled and nodded. "The one and only."

And, okay. So Rachel's younger brother was attractive. No big deal.

"Okay," Blaine said after a moment. "I know this may sound weird since I'm younger than you, but just hang in there, okay? Don't let the bullying get you down like it got me down."

Kurt nodded but kept his gaze on the black haired boy.

Blaine blushed a moment later, leaving Kurt a little confused. What had made him blush?

"Shouldn't you be at your elite boarding school or whatever?" Kurt asked after a moment.

And Blaine blushed again. "Actually," he said slowly, averting his eyes from Kurt's gaze and taking a sudden interest at the lines in the wooden table. "My old school was only through grade seven. So the next level up is Dalton, which goes has grades 8 through 12. But it doesn't start until next Monday."

Kurt nodded and watched the boy. He wondered what it would be like to go to an elite boarding school with a zero tolerance policy.

"Okay, Kurt, I've got some veggie sticks and some crackers and –" Rachel's voice came from behind him. "Blaine!" She cried. "What are you doing here?"

Blaine grinned at his sister over Kurt's head. "Just keeping your friend some company," he explained as he stood up and stretched his arms out. "I don't start school until next week. I think that's what dad was trying to tell you," Blaine explained. "But I'll be going now, though, so you don't flay me alive."

Kurt chuckled and watched as he left the room.

"Bye Rachel," he called over his shoulder. His eyes met Kurt's for a moment. "Bye, Kurt," he went on. "I'll see you around."

Kurt nodded and gave him a little wave as Rachel set down the snacks in front of him and sat in the seat Blaine was sitting in only moments before.

"You guys could be really good friends, you know," she said as she took a bite of a carrot. "Even if he is a little younger."

Kurt nodded and picked up a cracker.

"But I think he might have a little school boy crush on you," Rachel said after a moment. "I mean, he was practically bright red when I walked in here."

Kurt blushed and looked down at the crackers in his hand.

"Anyway," she continued on after a moment. "You can eat and then I'll set you up for a shower."

Kurt nodded and plucked a cracker in his mouth, thanking Rachel for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

And, as annoying as Rachel Anderson-Berry may be, he could tell that she really meant what she said when she told him they were going to be friends.

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><p><strong>Well? I didn't have time to proofread so if there's any really blatant errors I'll fix those later when I have time. I just really wanted to get this posted XD XD<strong>

**Did you enjoy it? I'm thinking it'll span through all of Kurt's high school so...it'll definitely be longer than Life on a Line was :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

**Review? Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all...wow. Thank you all _so much _for all your reviews and favorites. I cannot begin to describe how this made me feel that so many of you loved this story and favorited it and..**

**ldjflsakj**

**Anyway, I'm updating again :) As for whether this story will canon, my guess is that it will follow some parts of canon, but not all. As for this chapter, it's noncanon.**

**So, as of right now it's hard to say.**

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><p>After that day, Kurt Hummel could honestly say that Rachel Anderson-Berry was the best friend he ever had.<p>

He was still planning on going to her house that Friday like they originally planned, even though he had already been there once.

But Kurt had a problem.

She wanted him to spend the night.

Now, Kurt knew for a fact that his dad wouldn't allow him to spend the night at a girl's house. Especially since he didn't know Kurt was gay. But Kurt _wanted _to have a sleepover with Rachel. He never had a proper slumber party before, and he felt that it was sort of a rite of passage that needed to happen in order to proclaim a friendship official.

"Kurt," Rachel said slowly at lunch on Wednesday. "Maybe you should just tell him."

Kurt's eyes widened at his friend, his spoon with yogurt on it pausing just outside his mouth. "How about no?" Kurt finally responded after the initial shock wore off. "I'm not ready for that."

Rachel sighed and took Kurt's hand. "Look," she said. "I can be there with you, if you want. I could bring my dads, and they could explain everything, if that's what you want. Heck, we could even bring Blaine along for good measure."

Kurt took a shaky breath and set his spoon and yogurt down, no longer feeling hungry. "Rachel, I appreciate the concern," Kurt replied slowly. "But I don't think I want my dad to know yet."

Rachel's face crumpled a little, but she nodded in understanding. "You know you'll have to tell him eventually."

Kurt nodded and looked down at his yogurt. "I know," he said as he took his spoon and put it in his yogurt, stirring it absently. "But that doesn't mean that it's going to happen any time sooner."

The two fell silent after that, neither knowing quite what to say.

He knew Rachel was right, of course. He was aware that his father _deserved _to know.

But he had done some research on 'coming out.' And it had scared him. He didn't know how his father would react, what he would say, what he would believe.

And, frankly, he didn't want to know.

Kurt wasn't stupid. He knew that his father had sent him to soccer camp over the summer with hopes of it making him more masculine. He knew that he taught Kurt how to fix cars for similar reasons.

So Kurt really had no reason to believe that his father would be okay with him being gay. All the signs obviously pointed to him wanting a masculine son.

But then there were also times where he would buy Kurt tickets to a musical for his birthday, or give him gift cards to his favorite stores.

Kurt really didn't know, and that was what scared him.

"Oh!" Rachel sat upright a few minutes later, her eyes shining. "Just tell your dad that you're having a sleepover with Blaine."

Kurt paused and thought that over for a moment. That wasn't a half bad idea, actually. His dad would see it as acceptable, and then he'd still be able to have his sleepover with Rachel.

"Alright," Kurt nodded after thinking for a few moments. "I can do that."

Rachel beamed and then the bell rang, signing the end of their lunch period.

"I'll see you in English, okay?" Rachel said once they arrived at Kurt's locker.

Kurt nodded and the girl pressed a kiss to his cheek before skipping away.

That was completely unexpected.

Kurt turned to his locker and easily opened it, smiling at how organized it still looked. It had only been two days, but still. It looked nice.

"Hey, Hummel," came a deep voice from behind him. "Got yourself a little girlfriend?"

Kurt froze, his hand gripping his locker door tightly.

"Oh, wait," the voice went on. "She's not your girlfriend, 'cause you're a little faggot."

Kurt gulped loudly. He hadn't been called that since seventh grade. He thought everyone had outgrown that slur.

"Why so tense, Hummel?" Karofsky went on, his voice coming closer and closer. "It's not like you have anything stuck up your –"

Kurt whizzed around, knowing that his face was red and that there was practically steam shooting out of his ears. "Leave. Me. Alone." He hissed. "I never did anything to deserve this."

"Oh, yeah?" Karofsky sneered back. "You deserve this just for _existing, _fairy boy."

Kurt practically growled in frustration as he turned back around to close his locker, but he could feel his body shaking in terror.

But then, before he could even completely face his locker again, there was a firm hand on his back, shoving him roughly into his open locker.

Kurt cried out as his chin came in contact with the shelf inside the locker, wincing as he tried and failed to grab the locker door, falling roughly to the ground.

He heard Karofsky laughing as he walked away, leaving Kurt's crumpled form on the floor.

And, for the second time that week, Kurt made his way to the girls' bathroom. He slowly stood up, leaning against the lockers for support as a wave of dizziness overcame him, taking tentative steps once he decided he was stable enough to walk.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of painful walking, Kurt managed to open the door to the bathroom. Once he was in, however, everything became much more serious.

His chin was bleeding.

His chin was bleeding a _lot._

Kurt felt himself panicking as he ran – or at least tried to run – to the paper towels, gathering up a decent sized wad and pressing it to his bleeding chin.

Kurt didn't know what to do. He couldn't go to the nurse – they would call his dad, which would then lead to a whole lot of explaining. And he couldn't go home for similar reasons. Rachel was in class, but maybe she had her phone on.

Kurt quickly fished his phone out of his pocket and sent her a quick text, saying that something had happened and he wasn't sure what he should do. He didn't go into specifics and included a line that said that he was fine and that she shouldn't worry, but that he _really _just needed somewhere to go that wasn't McKinley.

Rachel responded after about ten minutes, saying that her parents weren't home but that her house was close enough to walk to and that Blaine was on his way, coming to get him so that he wouldn't get lost.

He had only been to the girl's house once, after all. So that he might get lost was a perfectly good assumption.

But…Blaine was coming to get him.

Why did the younger boy always manage to see him at his weakest points?

Kurt sent her another text, telling her that he would be in the bathroom.

Still holding the paper towel to his chin, Kurt gingerly sat down against the wall. He wanted nothing more than to just run home to his dad and launch himself in his arms, his strong hands rubbing soothingly against Kurt's back and reassuring him that everything would be okay.

But he couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to.

And with that, Kurt decided that he would tell his father soon. Not today, and maybe not even before Friday. But soon. He would just have to deal with whatever his response was, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this from his father for much longer. He didn't _want _to keep this from him.

Kurt gently brought the paper towel away from his chin and threw the bloody one away, replacing it with a fresh one. His chin was _still _bleeding pretty bad. He needed to get a Band-Aid on it or something, before it became infected. Kurt made a mental note to keep band aids as well as a fresh change of clothes in his locker from now on. He knew he would probably need them.

He didn't know how long he just sat there, holding the paper towel to his bloody chin, but eventually the door to the girls' bathroom opened slowly and Blaine's head popped in.

"Oh," Blaine said when he saw Kurt on the floor, opening the door all the way and walking into the room. "I had a feeling you'd be in here."

Kurt nodded and looked down at his feet, keeping the paper towel pressed against his chin. He could feel Blaine's eyes on him, just waiting for the realization of what had actually happened to dawn on the younger boy.

"Oh my god," and there it was, "Are you bleeding?"

Kurt nodded, still keeping his eyes away from the boy.

And then Blaine was crouched next to him, his hand prying the paper towel away from Kurt's grasp. "Let me see," he said soothingly.

Kurt relented, and Blaine removed the paper towel and tilted Kurt's chin up to get a better look.

"We'll get some band aids on that when we get to my house," Blaine murmured after a few moments of inspection. "It doesn't look like it needs stitches, so that's good."

Kurt nodded again and brought the paper towel back up to his chin, not wanting the blood to get on his clothes.

"C'mon," Blaine said as he stood up, holding his hand out for Kurt to help him up. "We can talk about this back at my house."

Kurt sighed and grabbed Blaine's hand. A quick spark shot through his fingers, causing him to flinch as Blaine pulled him up.

"Sorry," Blaine said with a chuckle. "Must be a little static-y today."

Kurt gave him a weak smile and followed Blaine out of the school, catching up and walking beside the boy once they were out of the parking lot.

"Your dad won't be mad that you're skipping school again?" Blaine asked, quirking an eyebrow at Kurt as they walked.

Kurt sighed and dabbed the paper towel against his chin again. "He won't know," Kurt replied. "At least he won't find out from me."

Blaine nodded and looked at Kurt for a moment before speaking again. "You guys don't talk very much, do you?" He asked. "And I'm not trying to pry, it's just that – well, my dads were the second people I told I was gay after Rachel."

"I'm just not sure how he'll take it," Kurt replied softly. "He – He hasn't particularly done anything to reassure me that he'd be fine with me being gay."

Blaine nodded as they rounded the corner, turning onto a street that Kurt recognized their house was on. "I know what you mean," he responded. "I mean, not personally. But I understand."

Kurt didn't respond until they were walking up the driveway and Blaine was shoving his key into the door.

"How did you tell them?" Kurt whispered. "Like – I don't even know how I would go about it."

Blaine turned the key and pushed the door open, ushering for Kurt to come inside.

"Well, I'd imagine it's different, since their both gay," Blaine said with a small smile as he dropped his key into a little tray next to the door. "But I pretty much just walked up to them and said "Dads, I'm gay.' And then they were just like, 'Okay.'" Blaine shrugged, walking into the kitchen.

Kurt followed him, once again taking in the excellent interior design.

"Do you want something to eat?" Blaine asked.

Kurt shrugged again and Blaine opened the freezer before pulling out a frozen pizza, setting it on the counter and turning on the oven.

"I'll go get some band aids," Blaine told him as he turned back around. "I'll be right back."

Kurt nodded and removed the paper towel from his chin, cringing at how much blood was actually on it. He looked around the room, noting all the framed pictures scattered on various counters and hanging on the walls.

He saw one with Blaine and Rachel when they were probably in preschool, their cheeks pressed together with huge grins on their faces as they held their respective book bags.

Then there was another one of Blaine only in a diaper, his hair curly and his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Alright," Blaine's voice broke Kurt out of his trance. He turned his head towards Blaine, who was giving him an amused look. "Ah, the pictures," he said, Kurt noting that he was blushing a little.

"You were cute," Kurt noted, watching as the boy flushed even more.

Blaine ducked his head as he unwrapped a band aid and lifted Kurt's chin up so that he could see what he was doing. "I bet you were cuter," he said absently as he placed the band aid gently on Kurt's chin. Seeming to realize what he said, his cheeks tinted several shades of red. "I – uh – I mean –"

Kurt just laughed, trying to ignore the tingles that were coming from his chin whenever Blaine put a band aid on. "It's fine," he replied after a moment. "I was pretty cute."

Blaine chuckled sheepishly as he placed the last band aid on Kurt's chin, stepping back to admire his handy work. "There," he said, a small smile on his face. "We can replace them in a few hours if we need to."

Kurt nodded and watched as the younger boy put the frozen pizza in the oven. It was strange. He seemed _older _than Kurt, not younger.

"So," Blaine said as he plopped into the chair besides Kurt. "What happened?"

And Kurt told him everything. He told Blaine how Karofsky had approached him in the hallway, how he had called him names and slurs that he thought people had grown out of, and how he shoved him into his locker.

Blaine let out a deep sigh and ran a hand across his face. His forehead crinkled and he closed his eyes for a moment, clearly thinking about something unpleasant.

And then Kurt remembered why Blaine had transferred. And he couldn't help but wonder if maybe it had been worse than he let on.

"I knew I was gay for a long time," Blaine whispered after a few moments of silence. "In third grade I watched Aladdin and apparently said out loud that I thought he was cute for a cartoon."

Kurt chuckled, as he watched Blaine carefully, not sure where this was going.

"So of course I didn't like, _know _know until around sixth grade," Blaine went on. "But – you know how bullies are. They seem to have exceptional gaydar."

Kurt nodded, his eyes trained on Blaine as he watched the boy's face crinkle at whatever he was thinking about again.

"Kurt," Blaine's voice broke around the name, his eyes opening and meeting Kurt's. "I used to be in the same grade as you and Rachel. I'm younger, but our dads wanted us to be in the same grade so it would be easier, and they let me."

"You – what?" Kurt's eyebrows raised. "So –"

"I got beat up in sixth grade," Blaine whispered. "Me and Rachel went to a different public school and – and some jerks came and beat the crap out of me. It was pretty much the same week when I realized that I was gay for sure and – and it wasn't so much the physical but –"

Blaine broke off, his voice cracking. He took a deep breath to compose himself. "I just missed a lot of school," he whispered, his voice sounding broken. "And then they told me I had to redo sixth grade."

Kurt stared at Blaine with wide eyes. This boy had been through _so much _already, and he was only thirteen.

"And then my dads sent me to private school, and I start at Dalton on Monday," Blaine shrugged. "Simple as that."

Kurt swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, unsure as to what he should say. "You didn't have to tell me all that," Kurt whispered eventually, finally able to form words.

Kurt didn't think it was fair. He didn't think it was fair that Blaine had to be held back because he'd been beaten up the week he knew for sure he was gay.

But now Kurt didn't feel like he had it so bad.

"I think you needed it," Blaine said softly, a small smile on his lips. "And, besides, I could tell you were uncomfortable with me being younger than you. So now you know that I'm _technically _supposed to be in the same grade as you."

Kurt gave him a small, tentative smile. "Thank you," he said quietly, not even sure if Blaine could hear him. "Just – thank you."

Blaine smiled and squeezed his knee tightly for a moment. "Stay strong, okay?" Blaine whispered.

Kurt nodded and Blaine got up to get the pizza out of the oven.

They ate their pizza mostly in silence, occasionally talking about movies or songs that were popular.

But once their plates were in the sink, Kurt knew that he needed to ask Blaine something.

"Blaine?" He asked, walking over to lean against the counter as Blaine washed their dishes.

Blaine turned his head to the side, acknowledging that he was listening to Kurt.

"Should – Do you think I should tell my dad tonight?"

Blaine looked over at him again and set the dishes down in the sink, drying his hands off on a towel. "I think you should tell him as soon as possible," Blaine replied after a few moments. "And that way you can tell him about your bullying situation."

Kurt nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap. "Could – Could you come with me?" Kurt asked quietly. "For moral support?"

Blaine smiled at him, his eyes crinkling. "Of course," he replied. "But you don't think it's weird that you're having an eighth grader help you?"

Kurt laughed softly. "No," he replied. "Give it a year and that weirdness will wear off."

Blaine laughed and shook his head. "Just wait till you see me in my Dalton uniform," he said, his eyes shining a little. "Then I'll look _older _than you."

The two fell silent again, Kurt staring at his hands in his lap.

"Can we walk to your house?" Blaine asked after a moment.

Kurt nodded. "It's probably take half an hour," he replied. "But yes."

Blaine set his towel down and came over to where Kurt was sitting and stood in front of him.

"It'll turn out okay," he murmured. "And – And if he doesn't approve, I'm sure Rachel will adopt you."

Kurt chuckled, feeling the tears forming in his eyes again. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Blaine, burying his head in Blaine's shoulder.

And he didn't care that he was hugging another gay boy. He didn't care that it was Rachel's younger brother.

Because this boy was genuinely helping him, and Kurt had never felt more accepted in his entire life.

"Thank you," Kurt whispered as he felt the tears beginning to fall from his eyes. "Thank you."

Blaine hugged him back after a moment, Kurt sensing that he knew this was what Kurt needed.

"Anytime," Blaine whispered in reply. "I've been there, remember?"

They stayed like that for a few more moments, Kurt not really wanting to ever let go of the boy whose arms were currently wrapped around him.

"Blaine!"

The front door swung open and Kurt heard Rachel walk into the room.

"Oh," she said abruptly, her eyes widening. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Kurt replied as he pulled away from Blaine, his eyes still watering. "I just needed some comforting."

Rachel seemed to _melt _at the sight of Kurt's tears before rushing over to him and enveloping him in her own hug – which was undoubtedly not as strong and firm as Blaine's had been.

"What happened?" Rachel asked, her eyes widening when she saw Kurt's chin. "Was it Karofsky again?"

Kurt nodded and glanced over at Blaine, who was blushing again for unknown reasons.

"Kurt," Rachel cooed, patting his hair gently. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Kurt just shrugged and cast his eyes down at his shoes.

"Well," Rachel went on after a moment. "I'm not leaving you alone in the hallways anymore. And since Glee starts tomorrow, you have something to look forward to."

Kurt nodded but sighed. "I'm telling my dad tonight, Rachel."

Rachel paused her rant, her eyes widening at Kurt. "That's great!" She said, a huge smile on her face.

Blaine looked up and gave his sister a confused look. Kurt could tell that he was thinking something along the lines of 'are you high or something?'

"Rachel," Kurt went on. "I don't know how he's going to take it. He's not gay like your dads are. For all we know, he could be like the rest of Ohio."

Rachel abruptly stopped talking, Kurt noting that Blaine took a small step towards him. Whether unconsciously or not, he didn't know.

"But we're going now," Blaine said abruptly after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Can I –" Rachel started, but Blaine shook his head.

"No," he told her, putting a hand on her shoulder and holding her in place. "It'll be easier with just us, okay?"

Rachel nodded and started climbing the stairs up to her room. "Wait!" She called, stopping halfway up the staircase.

Kurt turned to look at the girl, her face splitting into a smile. "This means you can spend the night on Friday!"

Kurt let out a laugh despite knowing what he was about to do. "Yeah, Rachel," he said. "It does."

* * *

><p>Kurt felt himself starting to shake as they walked up Kurt's driveway and he saw that his dad's truck was in the garage.<p>

"It'll be fine," Blaine said softly as they approached the door. "And I'm here."

Kurt nodded and slowly opened the door, revealing his dad sitting on the couch watching a football game.

"Hey, kid," his father greeted him, grinning at him. "Games on. Wanna watch?"

Kurt gulped and walked further into the house, Blaine following in after him.

"Oh," Burt sat up, his eyes on Blaine. "Who's this?"

Kurt gulped again, and _why did his dad sound angry about Blaine being here?_

"Umm, this is Blaine," Kurt said after a moment. "Rachel's brother. Remember her?"

Burt nodded, his eyes still on Blaine.

"Dad," Kurt went on when Burt didn't say anything. "I – I need to tell you something."

Burt muted the TV and turned back to Kurt, who took a deep breath and went and sat in the chair across from the couch. Blaine was standing next to him, his eyes trained on Kurt's face. Kurt chanced a glance back up at Blaine, who gave him a small smile and an encouraging nod.

"Dad," Kurt whispered, his voice quiet and his eyes staring at the coffee table in front of him, refusing to meet his father's eyes. "I – I'm gay."

Kurt heard Burt's intake of breath and saw out of the corner of his eye as he brought his hand up to rub his face.

Kurt chanced a glance at Blaine, who appeared to be holding his breath.

And then Kurt realized that yeah, he was holding his breath too.

Burt stayed like that for a moment, his hand pressed against his face and his eyes tightly shut.

And then he spoke.

"I know. Well, I figured."

Kurt had to do a double take – well, in the figurative sense. "You – know?"

Burt nodded and finally met his son's eyes. "Call it a father's intuition," he said, although his voice sounded strained. "But, yeah, I guess I knew."

Kurt heard Blaine let out a sigh of relief next to him. "And you're – okay with this?"

Burt nodded and stood up, kneeling in front of his son and taking his hands in his own. "You're still my son," Burt said firmly. "And who or what you love doesn't change that."

And then Kurt burst into tears. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck and held him tightly, his father's hand stroking his hair gently.

"It's okay, kid," Burt said as Kurt buried his head further into his father's shoulder. "I'm here."

Kurt eventually unlatched, his eyes still staying on his father. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Don't thank me," Burt grunted as he stood back up, straightening out his shirt. "I'm just doing my job."

And, just like that, all the tension in the room was broken. Blaine let out a soft chuckle and patted Kurt's shoulder gently, communicating that he had done a good job and that he did the right thing.

"Blaine," Burt turned to the boy, "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Oh, no sir, I don't want to impose," Blaine responded and, _oh yeah, Blaine did go to public school._

"You're staying," Burt said. "I imagine you're the one who talked Kurt into telling me, and judging by the band aid on his chin you've helped him a lot too."

Both Kurt and Blaine blushed, but Blaine nodded. "Okay," he said. "Let me just tell Rachel."

"Oh, speaking of Rachel," Kurt piped in after a moment. "Can I sleep over her house on Friday?"

Burt narrowed his eyes at Blaine for a moment and looked between the two before nodding. "Yes," he said. "But _only _with Rachel."

And Kurt blushed again, knowing that the younger boy beside him was too.

"Now, c'mon," Burt said to the two, chuckling slightly at their red faces. "Let's go eat."

Kurt stood up and went to follow Blaine into the kitchen when his father caught his arm.

"Blaine," he said quietly, "Is he…?"

Kurt nodded slowly, not sure where his father was going with this. "He's still in eighth grade, Dad," Kurt responded. "I don't think you have to worry about anything. He's just a good friend."

Burt nodded and started to walk into the kitchen.

But why Kurt felt his heart flutter whenever he heard Blaine's name, he had no idea.

* * *

><p><strong>Baby Kurtie is crushing so hard on little blaine and he doesn't even know it XD squees XD XD And Burt being the amazing father he is and being all protective of his son.<strong>

**sighs.**

**Not sure when the next chapter will be...I start school again on Wednesday so...**

**But i'll definitely try and keep this more regular than my past WIP's. Mainly because I absolutely adore Anderberry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Aladdin or any other recognizable things in this chapter.**

**Review? Again, thank you all _so much _for you love :) It kind of made my life a little bit...and may have caused me to flail a little...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys. First can I say - HOLY SHIT. ALMOST 60 REVIEWS AND 10,000 HITS?**

**Dear lord, you guys are enjoying this.**

**So after the sleepover, I'm not going to do this day by day thing anymore. I kind of want to get to Kurt's sophomore and junior year, because that's when everything's going to happen for the most part.**

**And, you know, I kind of need to get Blaine into high school... ;)**

**So enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Kurt stood in front of his mirror on Thursday, adding the final touches to his hair.<p>

It was Thursday.

Meaning the day of Glee Club auditions.

So of course Kurt Hummel wanted to look his best for the occasion. He figured no one except the choir director would be watching him, but still. If he was going to be on a stage, then he wanted to look, to _feel _like he should be on a stage.

That was just the way his mind worked.

With one last glance in the mirror, Kurt smiled at his appearance before turning around and shouldering his bag, grabbing his jacket with his other hand and making his way down the stairs.

Ever since yesterday evening when he came out to his dad, Kurt had felt so much lighter. He loved not having to hide something like that, something that made him who he was, from his dad. He could _be himself _now.

And Kurt loved it.

But then there was the problem of school. The jocks obviously suspected that he was gay, but that was just based on his appearance and high voice. They had no concrete evidence. But that didn't make Kurt feel any easier about it. He knew that he would have to come out eventually, but he knew that the bullying would only get _that _much worse.

He hadn't, however, told his dad about the Karofsky issue. Which, both Blaine and Rachel had said was more important than even coming out to him.

Kurt couldn't do that though. He couldn't worry his dad over something as small as that when it wasn't even that big of a deal. Lots of kids got picked on. It was just how high school worked, apparently.

Kurt neared the end of the staircase and could smell his dad cooking breakfast – something which in itself was unusual. He rounded the corner and set his bag down next to the front door before plopping down at the kitchen table and taking a swig of the orange juice that was already poured for him.

"You didn't have to make breakfast," he told his dad as he set his juice down.

Burt grunted and set a plate of bacon down on the table. "You deserve it," he told him, patting his shoulder before moving back to the stove.

Kurt blushed and forked several pieces of bacon – his guilty pleasure – onto his plate. "Dad –" he started to protest, but Burt cut him off by shaking his head and setting a serving of eggs in front of him.

"No, Kurt," he said sternly, staring intently into Kurt's eyes. "What you did isn't easy. Hell, some kids never come out to your parents. And the fact that you trust me enough to tell me – Well, you deserve something like this, kid."

Kurt smiled at him and threw his arms around his waist, burying his face in his stomach. "Thank you," he whispered.

Burt patted his hair and released him, walking out of the kitchen. "Eat," he instructed, "And I'll be ready to take you in fifteen minutes."

Kurt nodded and started to eat, smiling because his dad hadn't burned the eggs for once.

* * *

><p>Kurt slowly walked to his locker and he already felt the butterflies in his stomach. Glee wasn't until after school, so he was just going to have to deal with this nervous feeling for the whole day.<p>

Great.

He opened his locker and put all of his books away – even though he didn't have any homework, he still brought a few books home because it felt _strange_ carrying an empty bag around.

Catching a flash of brown hair in his mirror, Kurt sighed and braced himself for what was about to come.

"Kurt!" Rachel cried as she came up behind him. "Hi."

Kurt chuckle and closed his locker, turning to face the brown haired girl. He knew that she was bouncing with excitement today and that she'd been waiting for Glee auditions since the first day of school.

"Glee starts today," she grinned as they started walking towards their next class. "Aren't you excited?"

Kurt shrugged and stared down at the books in his hands.

He was excited. He really was. But he wasn't sure how people would take his voice.

"Are you nervous?" Rachel asked, picking up on his mood. "Because you have a great voice Kurt, and –"

"It's not that," Kurt said softly. "It's just – my voice is different. Not like other guys."

Rachel gripped his arm and stopped them in the middle of the hallway, turning him so that he was facing her. "You listen to me, Kurt Hummel," she said, her voice stern. "I _know _that you know no one within the club is going to think that. You _know _that people appreciate a good voice no matter who's singing it."

Kurt sighed exasperatedly and nodded. "Yes, I know _that," _he replied. "But – But what about the jocks? Karofsky?"

"They're never going to hear –"

"Yes, they _will _Rachel," Kurt responded, not even letting the girl finish her sentence. "If you forgot, the Glee club does _assemblies. _In front of the _whole school."_

Rachel paused for a moment before nodding and looking down. "We'll have your back though," she whispered.

Kurt sighed and continued walking towards his classroom, leaving Rachel still standing in the middle of the hallway.

He plopped down in his desk chair, setting his books on his desk and just staring at the pencil in his hands. He felt kind of bad about snapping at Rachel like that – after all, she had been nothing but nice to him – but he was just _so _on edge about the whole thing.

Was this how it was going to be for the rest of the year? Was this how he was going to feel if he didn't come out?

And then there was the fact that Kurt didn't even _know _how to come out to an entire school. Yeah, he could probably just tell one person and then everyone would know, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to do that.

Kurt groaned to himself and saw out of the corner of his eye that Rachel had sat a few desks away from him instead of her usual seat next to him.

Now Kurt really felt bad.

He quickly got out a piece of paper and scribbled an apology on it before throwing it on her desk, which, fortunately, was close enough so that it landed on the intended target.

Rachel opened it and Kurt instantly saw her soften. She glanced over at him and gave him a small smile, and he knew that he was forgiven.

He wasn't going to lose his only friend that easily. She was literally the only one in the whole school who had talked to him – besides Karofsky, but that didn't count. She knew everything about him, and she did seem to genuinely care, somewhere under her diva attitude and her self-centered nature.

The class wore on slowly, as did the rest of the day. That was probably due to Kurt's increasing nerves, but it didn't please Kurt in the slightest. At this point, he just wanted to get his audition over and done with so that he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

And then finally, _finally, _the last bell for the day rang.

And Kurt felt like he was about to throw up.

"You ready?" Rachel asked as she fell into step beside him, the two slowly making their way towards the auditorium.

Kurt let out a stiff, nervous chuckle. "I feel like I'm going to vomit," he admitted, causing the short girl to chuckle.

"You'll be fine," she told him. "The new choir director said that everyone can join, but that auditions were still required."

"That really doesn't help me much," Kurt replied, rolling his eyes a little. "Because I knew that I'd make it anyway." He paused for a moment as something clicked in his head. "Wait," he said slowly, eyeing the girl next to him suspiciously. "You talked to the choir director already?"

Rachel blushed and avoided his eyes. "He's my Spanish teacher," she explained. "And when I heard he was in charge of Glee Club, I thought it couldn't hurt to get some brownie points before everyone else."

Kurt scoffed and shook his head. "You're ridiculous."

The two entered the auditorium then to find a small cluster of students.

"Ah!" A man said once they were in proximity. "Those are the last two! We can start now."

All of the students went and sat in the first row of seats, watching the man intently.

"Now, as you might now, this is the first year McKinley's had a show choir," he explained. "So, let's get started and –"

"Excuse me," a boy in a wheel chair said as he raised his hand. "But if I'm going to sing for you, I'd like to know your name."

The man laughed and nodded. "You're right," he said. "I'm Mr. Shuster, or Mr. Shue."

All of the students – about six or so – greeted him and smiled.

"Now, who wants to go first?"

Rachel's hand shot up in the hair, her fingers twitching with excitement.

"Alright, Rachel," Mr. Shue said. "Take it away."

Rachel stood up and flicked her hair before walking up on the stage and taking the microphone.

"Oh great," the girl beside Kurt muttered. "I get to hear Berry sing for another whole year."

Kurt turned to see an African-American girl, rolling her eyes as Rachel started to sing a Barbra Streisand song.

"You know her?" He whispered, still soaking up Rachel's every word because she really _could _sing.

"I've been in the same music class as her for every year since first grade," the girl replied. "I thought maybe she wouldn't join Glee Club."

Kurt snorted at the thought of Rachel not doing something that involved singing. "Right," he whispered. "Good luck with that one."

The girl turned to look at him, holding out her hand. "I'm Mercedes Jones," she told him as she shook his hand.

"Kurt Hummel," he replied, giving her another smile.

"Well, Kurt Hummel," she said, winking at him. "I hope you can sing. Because I'll have you know that I have one set of vocal chords."

"Oh, I can," he replied, a small smile on his lips. "Don't worry."

Rachel finished her song and listened as Mr. Shue praised her, her face lighting up at his every word.

"Next?" He prompted.

And so it continued. An Asian boy named Mike just danced, Mr. Shue nodding in understanding when he said he couldn't sing. The wheel chair boy – whose name was Artie – went after him, and Kurt had to admit that he had a nice voice. Then Tina – the Asian girl. And finally Mercedes. And she did have a good voice.

But suddenly, Kurt regretted waiting to go last.

"Okay, Kurt, you're last."

Kurt took a deep breath, barely feeling Rachel's pat of encouragement on his shoulder, and made his way up the stairs. He lights burned his eyes, but he'd been on a stage a few times before. He could do this.

"Hi," he said, his voice sounding squeaky and higher than usual. "I'm Kurt Hummel, and I'll be singing _Mr. Cellophane_."

He saw both Rachel and Mr. Shue nod their heads in approval, causing a small smile to spread across his face as he sang.

Once he was done, he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart before standing up and waiting for Mr. Shue's verdict.

"Kurt," the man all but breathed. "That was amazing."

Kurt grinned and bowed once before all but running down the stage and back to his seat.

"How was I?" He whispered to Rachel, his eyes alight and his heart pounding.

"Outstanding," she replied, squeezing his hand gently. "You're amazing."

And Kurt had never felt more amazing and accepted in his whole life.

"Well," Mr. Shue said as he came back to the front of the group. "You guys are a talented bunch of kids. Now obviously we'll need more in order to compete, but . . ."

Kurt zoned out as he continued talking. Because he was a part of something. These guys would become his friends.

"Rehearsals will start after school next Monday," Mr. Shue said as he ended his speech. "So I'll see you all then."

Rachel and Kurt walked out of the auditorium and towards the parking lot, huge smiles on both of their faces.

"Oh," Rachel said, pointing to her car. "My ride's here."

Kurt nodded and glanced around, noting that his dad wasn't there yet. He got his phone out only to find a voicemail from him, explaining that there was a problem down at the shop and that he would have to walk home.

"I'm walking home, apparently," he told Rachel with a huff. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He started to walk away in the direction of his subdivision when Rachel called his name. He glanced over at his shoulder at the girl.

"Do you want a ride home? My dad wouldn't mind."

Kurt bit his lips and thought for a moment before nodding, because he really didn't want to walk home. It was already six o'clock and it was getting dark.

"C'mon."

He followed Rachel to her car, where she opened the door and greeted her father. "Can we give Kurt a ride home?" She asked sweetly.

The man nodded. "Of course," he said, pushing the button and opening the back door of the minivan for Kurt. "Hop in."

Kurt smiled and gave him a small thank you before sitting in the back seat.

Only to find Blaine sitting there grinning at him.

"Oh," he said sheepishly as he closed the door. "Hi."

Blaine continued grinning at him, and Kurt felt himself blushing for reasons that were unknown to him.

"Why are you sitting in the back seat?" Kurt asked once he gained enough composure to actually form a sentence.

"Because I knew Rachel would abuse me if I sat in the front," he responded, laughing at the glare Rachel sent his way. "So I was saving myself."

Kurt nodded and chuckled. "Fair enough."

Kurt gave Rachel's father directions to his house, having small conversations with Blaine in between turns.

"Right here," he said once they neared his driveway. He hopped out of the car and thanked him several times.

"It's no problem," he replied. "We're on our way to get Rachel a haircut so –"

"Ugh," Blaine groaned. "You didn't tell me that when you asked if I wanted to go with you."

The man chuckled and smiled fondly at Blaine as he shook his head. "Sorry, son," he told him. "But you're stuck with us now."

Kurt bit his lip for a moment before thinking _screw it. _"Umm," he said tentatively. "Blaine – he can stay here if he wants. And you can just pick him up afterwards."

Rachel's father thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright," he said. "Is that okay with you Blaine?"

But Blaine was already out of the car and standing at Kurt's side, nodding his head vigorously. "Thank you for saving me," he whispered in Kurt's ear.

"Hey!" Rachel protested. "He's been to Kurt's house more than I have!"

Kurt chuckled as the minivan pulled out of the driveway, turning and heading towards the house. He fished the key out from his bag before opening the door and ushering Blaine inside.

Blaine stood awkwardly by the door for a moment, and Kurt could sense that he didn't know what to do. Heck, _he _didn't know what to do. He was alone in his house with a boy. A gay boy, at that.

"Erm," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We can find something to eat, if you want."

Blaine nodded and the two went into the kitchen, Blaine sitting down at the table while Kurt rummaged around in the fridge looking for something. "Cheese?" He asked. Blaine nodded again and Kurt brought several cheese sticks to the table and sat down across from him.

"So," Blaine said after a moment. "How are things at school?"

Kurt sighed and picked at his cheese. "Well, no one beat me up or threw slushies at me today," he replied . "So that's progress, I guess."

Blaine looked at him with concern for a moment. "I wish you could just come to Dalton," he said softly after a moment. "I don't think it's fair that I get to use it as a safe haven while you're still stuck in that hell hole."

It was a time like this that Kurt forgot Blaine was younger than him. Granted, he had been in private school for several years, but it was _so easy _to think he was older just because of the way he talked.

"Well, I would if we could afford it," he responded after a few moments. "I just don't think we have that kind of money right now."

The two continued to eat their snacks in silence, Kurt staring out the window and wondering why the silence wasn't awkward.

"How did you come out at school?" Kurt asked suddenly a few moments later. It had been bugging him all day, because, since he felt that instant relief after telling his dad, he wanted to feel the same way while at school, considering he spent most of his time there.

Blaine chuckled. "It's not as hard as you think," he said. "I told Wes and David – my two closest friends – and then somehow everyone just…found out, I guess."

Kurt nodded. "So, if I were to come out…"

"Tell a small group of people, or even just one person," he responded. "And then, since you'll have them and their support, you won't even notice as the rest of the school starts to know."

Kurt nodded again and smiled at Blaine. "Thank you," he said again. "I know I've known you for less than a week but – thank you for helping me with all of this."

"I've been there, remember?" Blaine said, his hazel eyes glowing a little. "I know how it feels to have to do this alone."

Blaine's father returned a few minutes later, Kurt waving at Blaine and watching as the younger boy hopped in the car.

Kurt collapsed onto the couch and thought that he might, just _might _come out to the Glee Club. Once he got to know them better, that is.

Because he really _didn't _want to hide who he was at school. He wanted to be able to enjoy high school.

But he also knew that there were certain people who would still make that impossible.

* * *

><p><strong>Isn't baby Blainers the cutest? sitting in the backseat XD i squealed when I wrote that :)<strong>

**Anyway, sleepover's the next chapter :) I know you've all been waiting for that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

**Thank you guys so much for you love and favorites and reviews and alerts. It means _so much _to me that people are enjoying this and have even gone as far to say that I write the best Anderberry and whatnot. You have no _idea _how much I love you guys :)**

**Until next time - Megan :)**

**Oh and I changed my username to match my tumblr, by the way :) So don't be alarmed :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys :) My plan for this fic is to update it once a week, most likely every Friday or Saturday.**

**So yes, that's good :)**

**This chapter is the sleepover! Woot!**

**I really, really want to get Blaine into high school. Like, really. So I'm estimating that Kurt's freshman year will go by pretty quickly after the next two or so chapters, and then we'll see where it goes from there.**

**Some of you are asking about the Karofsky kiss, and I don't want to give anything away...but I do plan on following Never Been Kissed for the most part, just with slight variations, so...**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p>"So, Kurt," Rachel said at lunch on Friday as she glared at her plate. "I was thinking that first we could watch some musicals, and then –"<p>

"Rachel," Kurt laughed, shaking his head fondly at the girl. "You don't need to make an agenda. We can just do whatever." He paused and watched as she took a bite of the meat on her plate. "How do you eat that? It doesn't even _look _like meat."

Rachel just shrugged and took another bite. "I dunno, once you get past the fact that you don't really know –" She trailed off, her face tinting green before she put a hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

Kurt sighed and chuckled a little before taking his and Rachel's trays and throwing out their garbage. He walked out of the cafeteria and towards the girls' bathroom, cringing when he heard the sound of what he presumed was Rachel retching in the toilet.

"Rach?" He called. "You alright?"

She groaned in response before he heard her flush the toilet. Her face was pale as she walked out of the stall, her cheeks still with a greenish tint to them.

"Never eating meat again," she mumbled. "I'm now a vegetarian."

Kurt laughed and dampened a paper towel before holding it against her forehead. "I did tell you not to eat that," he said after a moment.

"And, like I said," she replied. "I am never eating, never _touching _anything animal related ever again."

Kurt laughed and rolled his eyes at the girl. And, as extreme as that was, it was just so _Rachel. _She never did anything halfway – so of course she wouldn't just be a vegetarian. No, she would be a vegan.

"Alright," Kurt responded once his laughter had subsided. "I won't try and stop you."

Rachel rinsed out her mouth and fixed her hair, turning to Kurt once she was done and giving him a dazzling smile. "You're still coming over tonight," she told him. "Oh my god, Kurt, my dads are going to _freak _when I tell them I'm now a vegan."

Kurt laughed again as the two walked out of the bathroom. "Rachel, it's not like you're coming out to them," he said. "They're just not going to make you meat anymore. It's honestly not that big of a deal. Loads of people do it."

Rachel just shrugged as they walked toward their next class. "So you're coming over right after school?" She asked, efficiently changing the subject.

"Well I have to go home and get my stuff," he told her, "So I think my dad can have me over by five."

Rachel nodded and gave her attention to the teacher, ending the conversation.

If there was one thing Kurt Hummel had learnt about Rachel Anderson-Berry, it was that she somehow always managed to control a conversation, whether the other person liked it or not.

* * *

><p>"Dad, really, it'll be fine," Kurt assured his father as they drove to Rachel's house later that afternoon.<p>

"Kurt, I don't know her parents, and –"

"Her dads are _gay,_" Kurt told him, wondering how he hadn't mentioned that before. Because, really, it _was _kind of a major detail.

"Oh – really?"

Kurt nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap. If he was being honest, he would admit that he _was _kind of nervous. He'd only ever met Rachel's one dad – Leroy, if he remembered correctly – and he _had _really only known the girl for a week.

And then there was the fact that Blaine was going to be there.

But why did that even bother Kurt? Why was that something he was feeling _nervous _about? Blaine had proved himself a good friend – a better friend than Kurt ever had before. So _why was he nervous_ about the possibility of seeing Blaine again?

"Turn here," he told his dad, signaling in the direction.

"And you're sure you're okay with this?" Burt asked him again, glancing at Kurt out of the corner of his eye.

"_Yes," _Kurt sighed. "I'll be fine."

"And Blaine?"

Kurt froze at the name, because _why was his dad asking him about Blaine?_

"What about him?" Kurt responded a few moments later.

"Well, he's gay," Burt replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "And you two seem to get along, and –"

"Dad, he's in eighth grade," Kurt told him. "And there's nothing like that going on between us."

"I dunno, kid," Burt said. "Something –"

"No," Kurt shook his head, cutting his father off. "It's fine, Dad. Honestly. There's nothing going on. And just because I came out to you, it _definitely _doesn't mean that I'm ready for a boyfriend."

"I'm just saying, Kurt," his father replied. "Just – be careful, okay?"

"He's _just a friend, _Dad," Kurt scoffed, because honestly, how long was his dad going to go on about this? "Okay? That's all he is to me."

Burt sighed as he pulled into the Anderson-Berry driveway. "Have fun, okay?"

Kurt nodded and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing his bag and hopping out of the car. He waved as he pulled out of the driveway, making his way towards the front door.

With his finger poised above the doorbell, Kurt felt his heart fluttering with nerves again.

_Come on, Kurt, _he told himself. _You're a big boy. You can handle a sleepover._

And with that, he rang the doorbell.

"Rachel! Your friend's here!" Kurt heard someone call from the inside, and then Rachel's shouted reply that she was busy and that someone else needed to get it.

And then the door opened, revealing a pajama-clad Blaine.

His hair was curly – not gelled like it had been the previous times Kurt had seen him. His smile was wide and his eyes were warm and inviting.

But that wasn't what sent Kurt into a fit of laughter, giving him the feeling that his heart was melting.

No, Blaine was wearing pajamas with puppies on them.

_Puppies._

And Kurt, honest to God, thought that Blaine was now officially the most adorable person he'd ever seen.

"Hi Kurt," Blaine said, still grinning and opening the door wider to let Blaine in.

"Hi," Kurt replied as he entered the now familiar house, feeling a little strange because it was the first time he'd been here without having some sort of problem.

Kurt turned back to Blaine, cocking his head in confusion as the younger boy glared at him.

"…What?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

"You're not in your pajamas."

Kurt opened his mouth to reply and then closed it, knowing that he did indeed look like a fish.

"It's Friday," Blaine went on. "Meaning that it's only normal to get into your pajamas the second school's out."

Kurt's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, a small smile playing at his lips.

"So," Blaine continued. "Why are you still in your clothes?"

Kurt looked down at his outfit – a pair of skinny jeans and a nice blue sweater that he knew made his eyes pop – before glancing back up at Blaine and noting that he was actually serious.

"Ermm," Kurt replied, unsure of what he should say. "I can go put them on?" He phrased it like a question, because he really had no idea of what Blaine wanted to hear.

But that must have been the right thing, since Blaine's face broke out in that same grin Kurt was now used to seeing on him, watching as he nodded vigorously. "Yes," he replied excitedly, bouncing on his heels a little. "Go do that! Rachel's busy getting things ready right now anyway."

Kurt sighed before trudging to the bathroom with his bag in tow.

He emerged a few minutes later, adjusting his t-shirt and picking a stray piece of fuzz off of his plaid pajama bottoms.

"Good," Blaine said once Kurt walked into the kitchen. "I approve of your pajamas."

Kurt laughed and sat across from Blaine at the table – sitting in the exact same seats they had a few days before.

"What is Rachel doing, anyway?" He asked, glancing around him as if the girl would suddenly appear.

Blaine shrugged and took a sip of his water. "I don't know," he replied. "I never know what she's doing half the time."

Kurt chuckled and rolled his eyes fondly. "Did she tell you she's a vegan now?"

Blaine laughed, setting his water down gently before spilled it from his laughter. "Yeah," he said. "I honestly don't know how she's not going to eat _anything _animal related. It's just…"

"Bizarre?" Kurt supplied, smiling when Blaine nodded in approval.

"I guess that's Rachel for you, though," Blaine said after a moment.

Kurt nodded and was about to respond when Rachel walked into the room, clad in pajamas and holding a bundle of blanket.

"Hi, Kurt," she squealed, jumping up and down a little. "C'mon! We're going to watch my pirated copy of _Wicked, _and _The Sound of Music, _and –"

"Okay, okay," Kurt laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I am your musical slave for the rest of the night."

Rachel grinned and grabbed Kurt's hand, dragging him down the hallway and towards the stairs.

Kurt glanced over his shoulder, waving at Blaine with his free hand. Blaine grinned back at him – that same grin that he always seemed to wear.

"Kurt, stop making googly eyes at Blaine and _come on,"_ Rachel sighed as she started pulling him up the stairs.

"What?" Kurt spluttered. "I – I'm not –"

"Deny it all you want," Rachel replied, dragging him into her room and shutting the door firmly behind her. She threw the pile of blankets in her arms onto the bed. "But I think you have a crush on Blaine."

Kurt's eyes widened, feeling his cheeks tinting with color. "Rachel," he huffed. "I don't like Blaine."

"Not _yet," _Rachel said, waggling her eyebrows at him. "But I guarantee that once he's in high school, you will."

"Whatever," Kurt replied, shaking his head a little. "Can we just get on with this musical marathon now?"

Rachel nodded and got up to insert the first disk into her DVD player, giving Kurt a minute to think.

He didn't know _why _everyone was assuming that he liked Blaine. Just because Blaine was gay, it didn't mean that Kurt had to instantly fall for him. Yeah, sure, he was cute and smart and kind of adorable, but –

Oh, so maybe he did have a small crush on Blaine.

But then again, Kurt thought that pretty much everyone with a sense of fashion and good bone structure was adorable, so that wasn't saying much.

And, besides, Blaine was still in middle school. And Kurt had _just _come out. He didn't feel nearly ready for a relationship.

"How exactly did you get a pirated version of _Wicked?"_ Kurt asked once Rachel sat back on the bed beside him.

And, just like that, the conversation swayed away from Blaine. Apparently it only took that one question to get Rachel going – because once the girl got talking about musicals, there seemed to be no stopping her.

After _Wicked, The Sound of Music, _and _Rent, _Kurt found himself sitting next to a completely passed out Rachel. Checking the clock, he noted that it was only 10:30, and, since he'd had about four cups of coffee that day, he wasn't even close to being tired.

And then there was the fact that caffeine made his bladder feel like it was about to explode.

Cringing as the bed creaked, Kurt slowly sat up and got off of the bed, careful not to jostle it too much so as not to wake Rachel up. From what he knew about the girl, he figured she wouldn't be the most pleasant person if he were to wake her up.

He quietly made his way to the bathroom, noting that her dads had gone to bed and that the door next to Rachel's room – which he assumed was Blaine's door – was cracked slightly.

Once he found the bathroom, he made quick work of his business, cringing as the flushing of the toilet sounded like a tornado was running through the house. Really, the last thing Kurt wanted was to be a nuisance to the Anderson-Berry's.

But then as he neared Rachel's door again, he realized how he felt like he had enough energy to last him another few hours.

What he was going to do in a sleeping house by himself for that long, Kurt had no idea.

So he quietly padded down the stairs, suddenly thankful that he hadn't taken his socks off, cringing at just the thought of how cold the hardwood floor would feel against his feet.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Kurt opened the cabinet he saw Rachel open earlier and pulled out a glass. He held it under the faucet and slowly turned it on, once again wincing at how loud the noise sounded in the silent house.

"Kurt?"

Kurt froze, his eyes wide as the water started to overflow out of the cup.

And then he heard feet padding closer to him, the sound getting louder and louder with each passing moment.

"I figured it was you," Blaine said from beside him, a small smile on his face. "Rachel fell asleep on you, didn't she?"

Kurt nodded before realizing that the water was still running, blushing slightly as he quickly turned it off, dumping some of the excess water out of his glass.

"You can come watch some TV with me," Blaine said after a moment, gesturing with his head towards the living room. "I mean – only if you want to."

Kurt took a sip of his water before setting it down on the counter, nodding slightly. "Sure," he replied quietly, still not wanting to wake any of the sleeping inhabitants.

Blaine grinned again and walked into the living room, Kurt trailing behind him.

"You don't have to worry about being quiet," Blaine told him. "All three of them sleep like hibernating bears. They won't wake up until morning."

Kurt nodded and sat down on the couch next to Blaine, leaning back against the arm rest.

He glanced at the TV, and he instantly respected Blaine just _that _much more.

"_The Lion King?"_ Kurt questioned, raising an eyebrow at Blaine.

Blaine blushed. "Guilty pleasure?"

"Don't be embarrassed," Kurt replied, a small smile on his lips. "It's my favorite movie."

"Why am I not surprised?"

Kurt chuckled and settled a little more into the couch, pulling a nearby blanket over his legs and resting a pillow under his head.

The chatted for a little bit, but Kurt was mostly entranced by the movie. There had always been _something _about this movie that Kurt had loved, because every time he watched it, he _watched _it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt saw Blaine slumping a little into the couch cushion, his eyes drooping closed for a few moments at a time before they popped back open.

But apparently, once Kurt noticed how tired Blaine was, he noticed that his caffeine buzz was _finally _wearing off.

And then he felt his own eyelids drooping, the soft blanket warm and comforting, causing his body to practically beg for sleep.

Not really caring that Rachel would murder him for being on the couch when she woke up in the morning, Kurt dozed off to sleep, the pillow underneath his head smelling fresh and vaguely like cinnamon and pine, a smell that he thought he could get used to.

* * *

><p>Kurt woke up to the light streaming through the blinds. He squinted, the sudden brightness practically blinding him.<p>

Groaning, he buried his face in his pillow and tried to fall back asleep, not feeling nearly rejuvenated enough.

And then he felt something warm resting on his legs, cracking one eye open to see a mop of curly brown hair resting on a pillow on his legs.

Blaine was, really and truly, the most adorable thing Kurt had ever seen.

Really, Kurt couldn't blame him for wanting to stretch out a little more. There wasn't a lot of room on the couch, and, if Kurt's suspicious were right, Blaine had gotten into that position while he was sleeping.

But that still didn't stop the small butterflies Kurt felt in his stomach.

And why, _why, _did Kurt always get that feeling around Blaine?

He didn't know, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

He watched Blaine sleep for a few more moments – realizing that he did sound like a bit of a stalker, but at the moment he didn't really care – noting how his curls fell into his eyes, how his fingers clutched the pillow under his head and how his eyebrows were completely relaxed, not a single line or wrinkle to be seen on his face.

And then of course the moment had to be completely ruined by the sound of Rachel stomping down the stairs, the faint noises of her muttering something under her breath alerting Kurt that she was most certainly not happy.

Kurt, deciding that it was in his best interest, dropped his head back onto his pillow and pretended to still be sleeping. He slowed his breathing, and, if he stayed like this for long enough, he probably could have potentially fallen asleep.

Kurt assumed that she saw Blaine sleeping against Kurt's legs, since he heard her mutter something about how it was always Blaine that ended up spending time with Kurt.

"Kurt," she hissed after a moment of muttering. "Kurt, you better wake up right now."

Kurt cracked an eye open and groaned, more out of annoyance at Rachel for being irritated at him than anything else.

"How long have you been down here?" She hissed once she was sure he was awake.

"Since last night," Kurt groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes to shade them from the light. "You kind of fell asleep on me and I was wound up on caffeine."

"So you had a sleepover with _Blaine?"_

Kurt felt himself blushing as he glanced at the boy sleeping on his legs, hoping that he was still asleep.

"We were just watching a movie," Kurt explained, "And then we fell asleep, I guess."

Rachel huffed again before standing up and walking into the kitchen. "I'm making pancakes," she told him. "And what time do you need to be taken home?"

"Ten thirty."

Rachel nodded before rounding the corner into the kitchen.

Kurt closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the fact that Blaine was sleeping on his legs, that his warm head was pressed against his calves.

"Mmmmnahhhggg."

Kurt chuckled as he saw Blaine's curls move slightly as he lifted his head up, his eyes squinting in Kurt's direction.

"Hi," Kurt said after a moment.

"We fell asleep?"

Kurt nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

The two remained silent for a moment, Kurt watching as Blaine gradually adjusted to the light around him. He listened as Rachel made pancakes in the kitchen, hoping that she made them as good as he did. Because really, when he was as good of a cook as he was, it made his standards for others just that much higher.

"Kurt?"

Kurt hummed in acknowledgement, his eyes focusing on the patterns in the paint on the ceiling.

"What do you think Dalton will be like?"

Kurt's eyes shot down to Blaine, is heart instantly aching in sympathy for the boy in front of him. His face was creased with worry, a small wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt all but cooed. "You'll be fine. You'll have all the other eighth graders and – and everyone will be nice to you."

"You mean they won't bully me," Blaine whispered, his eyes focusing on the blanket around him. "I don't know how you did it – going to a new school and getting bullied."

Kurt just shrugged and subconsciously scooted a little closer to Blaine. "It'll be okay," he said softly, patting his knee gently. "And, hey, if you ever need anything, you know where I live."

Blaine laughed, even though his smile didn't completely meet his eyes. "Too bad Westerville's so far away."

Kurt nodded in agreement, thinking about what his life would be like if he were to go to Dalton.

And then he thought about how he would be able to wander the hallways safely, without any fear of being pushed into locker or having slushies thrown at him

So he forced himself to _stop _thinking like that. He was stuck at McKinley, so there was really no use in even thinking about his life being any different.

"Kurt," Blaine said again after a few moments.

Kurt looked up at Blaine, whose eyes had been so nervous a few moments ago, now were filled with sympathy. "Everything will work out," he told Kurt, his eyes never leaving Kurt's blue ones. "I know it seems a little hopeless now, but…"

Kurt shrugged. "I'm used to it by now, I guess," he said. "It's just a little different now, but nothing I can't adjust to."

And then Rachel called them for breakfast, and their conversation was sufficiently ended.

But Kurt couldn't help but feel that he _shouldn't _have to get used to bullying. He shouldn't have to get _adjusted _to it.

Because, really, he shouldn't be getting bullied at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Baby Blaine in his puppy pajamas is the cutest thing ever.<strong>

**No argument. **

**If you follow me on tumblr, then you'll remember me freaking out about him when I wrote that part XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

**Review? YOU GUYS, thank you all so much for you love :) I have almost 300 alerts, and that really just _blows my mind. _So thank you for all your support and love :)**


	5. Chapter 5

The following week was slow, at least in Kurt's opinion. But maybe that was because his first week of school had been so cram-packed with _everything_. Luckily for him, Karofsky had – for now at least – stopped with the physical bullying, now only using the slurs.

But they still hurt.

He saw a lot less of Rachel after the sleepover. Granted, now that school was now in full swing and the homework load was steady, they were busier. Glee had started but that – well, that was different.

Monday came and went, Kurt finding that he could actually _enjoy _himself when he didn't have to worry about the possibility of Karofsky lurking around the corner. Glee, while different, was nice. Granted, there were only five of them, but they all generally got along. He talked to Rachel a little, and even got to know Mercedes a little more.

He'd talked to Blaine a little on Tuesday, via texting, of course. His first few days at Dalton had went well enough, and everyone there was genuinely nice.

_I told you so, _Kurt had responded, adding a winky face for good measure.

And that's how the month went on. Not much drama happened – a few slushie facials, a dumpster toss here and there. Each time, he'd just walk into the bathroom, change his clothes if necessary, and go about his day.

So Kurt's life continued, September turning into October, the leaves falling off the trees and the first snow fall happening around mid-November.

There'd been a few more sleepovers with Rachel – each of them not quite living up to his standards that the first one had supplied, but that was mainly due to the fact that Blaine was at Dalton now and would only be home for breaks.

And with Thanksgiving around the corner, Kurt almost felt _giddy _at the fact that he might be seeing Blaine again soon. He'd missed his friend. He wasn't sure what he would do if things had still been as bad as they were that first week of school.

But then Burt had announced that he and Kurt were going to visit relatives in Missouri, and all of Kurt's hopes for seeing Blaine were quickly dashed away.

But then, the day school started again after Thanksgiving break, everything changed.

Kurt walked into school as normal, feeling refreshed from the few days he'd had off. With a slight bounce in his step, he opened the doors and walked into the familiar hallway, walking towards his locker.

But everybody was staring at him.

_Everybody._

Ducking his head, Kurt walked a little faster and flung his locker open, sticking his head in as if to hide himself from the rest of the world. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, seeing that he had several missed messages from Rachel.

_Kurt I'm so sorry_

_I didn't mean to Kurt_

_I'm sorry_

_Please forgive me_

_I need to explain_

_Kurt_

_Where are you?_

Kurt had absolutely no idea what was going on, but he knew that his friend had something to do with why all the other students had been watching him.

"Kurt!"

Kurt turned to see Rachel jogging towards him, her eyes wide and her voice panicked.

"What's going on?" Kurt demanded.

"Kurt, I'm sorry," Rachel said, her voice soft and pleading. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to and –"

"What didn't you mean to do?" Kurt asked, his eyes narrowing.

Rachel took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before responding with a simple, two word phrase. "They know."

Comprehension sank into his mind.

And Kurt ran.

* * *

><p>Where he was running, Kurt didn't know.<p>

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, but he left it. He couldn't deal with Rachel right now. Whatever her excuse was, he didn't want to hear it.

He thought she had _understood. _She had _promised. _

But now the whole school knew, and everything was going to change.

Kurt continued to just run down the street, not really caring – or knowing – what direction he was going in. He couldn't go home, since his dad wouldn't have left for the shop yet. He couldn't seek Rachel's aid, obviously.

And, really, the only person Kurt had left was Blaine, who currently was at boarding school.

Deciding on instinct, Kurt ripped his phone out of his pocket, ignoring the messages from Rachel, and dialed the now familiar number.

After a few rings, the phone answered.

"Kurt?" Blaine's voice said. It sounded like he was whispering, and _oh, right, _he was probably either in class or out in the hallway or something.

Kurt sniffled a little before opening his mouth to respond. Except, instead of words, a wet, hoarse sob escaped his throat.

"Hang on," Blaine said after a moment, his voice urgent, and then a muffled, "Ma'am, I need to use the bathroom."

A few moments later, Blaine was talking again. "Okay, I'm in the bathroom," Blaine said. "What's wrong?"

"Rachel – " Kurt stammered, but he couldn't form a complete sentence.

"What did she do this time?" Blaine asked, his voice stiff.

"Everyone knows," Kurt whispered into the receiver, hoping that Blaine would know what he was talking about. "And I wasn't ready – I didn't want them to know yet."

Blaine was silent for a few minutes, making Kurt wonder if they'd lost the connection.

"Did Rachel do this?" Blaine asked sternly.

"I think so," Kurt replied, his voice quivering. "I don't know all the details, but she was apologizing and – and –"

"Kurt, you're okay," Blaine said. "You'll be fine. This happens to everyone."

"But now it's going to get worse," Kurt said softly, shaking his head a little as he continued to just walk down the street.

"What is?"

"The bullying."

"Oh."

The two were silent, Kurt's pace slowing.

"You should tell your dad," Blaine said after a moment.

Kurt shook his head, even though Blaine couldn't see him. "I can't."

Because he couldn't. He knew that his father wouldn't take it well. And he couldn't do that to him. Not yet.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, after Kurt had holed himself in his room for the night, he finally decided that he <em>should <em>probably talk to Rachel and listen to what she had to say.

Dialing his phone, he waited for her to answer.

"Kurt!"

Kurt cringed at the volume of her voice. "You have some explaining to do."

Rachel sighed, and told him everything.

She told him how, since he was gone for Thanksgiving, she'd been bored and went to the movies alone. She met Finn Hudson there – a quarter back on the football team who Rachel _may _have had a bit of a crush on. And then they'd apparently 'got talking.'

"And what does this have to do with me?" Kurt asked.

And then Rachel explained how Finn had asked if he was gay, and how Rachel, caught up in the moment of talking to the 'adorable, lanky boy,' had said yes almost immediately.

"And I'm sorry Kurt," she pleaded. "I'm so sorry. And then I didn't think he'd tell anyone, but…"

"Of course he was going to tell," Kurt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "He may not have told everyone, but he at least told _someone. _And then _someone _always leads to _everyone. _You know that by now, Rachel."

And Kurt knew she did. He knew that that had stung. But he felt that she deserved it.

"I gotta go," Kurt said after a moment.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Rachel replied before Kurt hung up.

Really, it wasn't the _worst _way he could come out of the closet. But it definitely wasn't the most ideal.

And, as he thought about the following day, he had no idea what he was going to do.

* * *

><p>Walking into school the next day, Kurt had felt like every eye was on him.<p>

And it was the same for the rest of the week.

He would walk around the school, head low and his arms wrapped around his books, holding them to his middle as if it could protect him.

He could hear the words people were whispering, the ones that had always stung him the most. Except it was different when they were coming from everyone in the school.

Kurt hadn't spoken to Rachel since their phone call on Tuesday, but he knew he couldn't avoid her forever. Maybe just for the rest of the day. Then he could have the weekend to himself before having to come back to the staring eyes and the all-knowing gazes.

When he arrived home after Glee rehearsal – which had become much more tense since he and Rachel were temporarily not on speaking terms – he buried himself in his room, not even bothering to come out when his dad arrived home.

"Kurt?" He yelled down the stairs, into the basement.

"Yeah?"

His door cracked open, Burt's head sticking through the doorway. "You okay?" He asked. "It's Friday night and you're buried under a pile of blankets."

"'M fine," Kurt mumbled.

"You've been out of it since Tuesday," Burt said as he came down the stairs, perching himself on the edge of Kurt's bed. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

"No."

Burt sighed and fixed Kurt with a stern gaze. "Kurt," he warned, his voice tense, letting Kurt know that he wasn't going anywhere until Kurt talked to him.

Kurt took a deep breath, clasping his hands in front of him under the blankets. "They – everyone at school – they all found out that I'm – that I'm gay."

Burt's eyes widened as he brought his hand up to pinch between the bridge of his nose.

"And it's Rachel's fault," Kurt added hastily, hoping that his dad wouldn't catch it.

"I'm sorry," Burt murmured after a moment. "And I'm sure Rachel didn't mean it."

Kurt nodded and looked down again. "She didn't," he replied softly. "But it still hurts."

"I know it does, bud," Burt said, smoothing his rumpled hair down gently, like he used to when Kurt was little and upset. "But everything will get better."

In hindsight, that probably would have been a good time to tell him about the bullying – which _had _gotten worse. Now all of the jocks knew – not just Karofsky and his cronies.

But with his dad murmuring soothing words into his ear as he stroked his hair, Kurt didn't want to add another worry to his father.

* * *

><p>"Kurt?"<p>

Kurt's eyes opened the next morning. Why was his dad waking him up on a Saturday? Really, after everything that had gone down during the week, all he really wanted was to just lay in bed and have a nice, relaxing, stress free Saturday.

"Kurt, someone's here for you!"

"Tell Rachel I don't want to talk to her today!" Kurt yelled back. He heard his father chuckle, but there was another laugh along with it. He could make out the faintest of murmurings before the door to his room cracked open.

"I said that I didn't want to see Rachel –" Kurt started, but the small laugh that resounded immediately made Kurt stop talking.

"Blaine," he said, because, _wow, _he was actually there.

"Hi," Blaine said as he neared the bed, sitting on the edge tentatively.

"You're – you –"

Blaine chuckled and nodded. "I came home for the weekend," he explained.

"Why?" Kurt asked, and _really, Kurt, did that matter?_

"You've had a rough week," Blaine said, his eyes soft. "And, from what I've gathered, you can't really talk to Rachel about it."

Kurt nodded and ducked his head a little.

"I've been through this, remember?" Blaine said, moving his head a little so he could meet Kurt's gaze. "I know that you really just need someone to talk to."

Kurt looked back up and really looked at Blaine then. He was still in his Dalton Uniform – making Kurt wonder if they had to wear them on Saturdays too. His hair was gelled back like it had been the first time they met.

And, like Blaine had predicted, it all made him look older than he actually was.

"Told you," Blaine smirked, somehow reading Kurt's thoughts.

Kurt blushed and Blaine settled himself on Kurt's bed beside him, turning his head to the side and raising his eyebrows, prompting Kurt to just let it out.

And Kurt did. He vented about school, Rachel, Finn Hudson, and just _everything _and _everyone. _And Blaine just sat there and listened, nodding when appropriate and occasionally adding a comment every now and then.

An hour passed, and Kurt found his head resting on Blaine's shoulder. "Thank you," he murmured.

"No need to thank me," Blaine responded. "This is what friends do."

Kurt raised his head, smiling a little. "We are friends, right?"

Blaine nodded and smiled back at him. "Yeah," he answered. "And," he added after a moment. "I would even go as far as to say you're the best friend I've ever had."

Kurt's grin widened as he looked at Blaine, noting the small twinkle in the boy's eyes. "Well," he said, "Since Rachel totally threw the best friend ball out the window, I think I can agree with that statement."

And then Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine, hugging him tightly. "I don't know how I would have gotten through all of this if you hadn't been here," he murmured.

"You would have," Blaine responded. "You're strong, Kurt. You would have found a way."

But Kurt didn't want to think about that. Because he _did _have Blaine, and he _didn't _have to do this on his own.

* * *

><p>Kurt walked into school on Monday holding his head high. Whenever someone looked at him, he would meet their gaze, causing them to avert their eyes immediately.<p>

He spotted Rachel at her locker, walking up to it immediately.

"Rachel," he said, causing the girl's eyes to widen at the sound of his voice. "I forgive you."

"You – you do?"

Kurt nodded and linked arms with her. "It was bound to happen eventually, right?" He said as they walked to their first class. "And now I don't have to hide anymore."

Rachel beamed at him. "Kurt, that's great!"

Kurt shrugged and blushed a little. "Well…Blaine may have helped a lot."

Rachel's eyes softened at that. "He's good for you," she stated.

Kurt, not knowing how to respond to that, continued to walk in silence.

"He talks about you a lot, you know," Rachel went on after a few moments.

"Well, we are good friends."

"Is that all you are?"

Kurt turned to Rachel, meeting her with a level gaze. God, he hoped he got a growth spurt soon so he'd be taller than her.

"Yes," he said. "For the ten thousandth time, we're just friends. He's _younger, _for Christ's sake."

Rachel laughed and held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay," she said with a laugh.

They arrived at the classroom then, and Kurt felt everything slipping back to normal.

* * *

><p>At Glee that afternoon, Mr. Shue said he didn't really have a plan for the week so they were just going to take turns singing solos.<p>

Kurt wanted to sing. After everything he'd been through in the past week, all he really wanted to do was sing.

But he didn't know what to sing. He didn't have anything prepared, he hadn't sung in _ages, _and –

It hit him then, feeling similar to being hit by a tidal wave.

"Mr. Shue," Kurt said as he raised his hand. "Can – Can I sing something?"

The choir director grinned and nodded, motioning for Kurt to come down to the front.

"Well," he said, addressing the small group of people. "As you probably know, I had a rough time last week." They all nodded, their faces filled with sympathy. "My mom always used to say that singing was therapeutic," he explained. "So…I'm going to sing it now."

_Grew up in a small town  
>And when the rain would fall down<br>I'd just stare out my window_

_Dreaming of what could be_  
><em>And if I'd end up happy<em>  
><em>I would pray<em>

Kurt felt his voice choking up a little, watching as Rachel pulled out her phone and typed something quickly before tucking it back into her bag.

_Trying hard to reach out_  
><em>But when I'd try to speak out<em>  
><em>Felt like no one could hear me<em>

Kurt remembered back to those long, grueling months in the summer when no one had no, when he'd been alone – just him and his mind. And, now that it was out in the open, he felt _free._

_Wanted to belong here_  
><em>But something felt so wrong here<em>  
><em>So I pray<em>  
><em>I could breakaway<em>

He lived in Lima, Ohio, a small, conservative town. What he was – gay – was frowned upon. He knew that, once he could, he was going to leave the town and go somewhere he would be one hundred percent accepted.

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly_  
><em>I'll do what it takes til I touch the sky<em>  
><em>And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change<em>  
><em>And breakaway<em>

_Out of the darkness and into the sun_  
><em>But I won't forget all the ones that I loved<em>  
><em>I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change<em>  
><em>And breakaway<em>

Kurt glanced around the room, noting that Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina were a little teary eyed while the boys and Mr. Shue all looked at him with respect and awe.

He wasn't necessarily accepted yet, but he was well on his way, at least within this small group.

_Buildings with a hundred floors_  
><em>Swinging 'round revolving doors<em>  
><em>Maybe I don't know where they'll take me but<em>  
><em>Gotta keep moving on, moving on<em>  
><em>Fly away, breakaway<em>

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly_  
><em>Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye<em>  
><em>I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change<em>  
><em>And breakaway<em>

_Out of the darkness and into the sun_  
><em>But I won't forget the place I come from<em>  
><em>I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change<em>  
><em>And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway<em>

Kurt took a deep breath and slowly walked back to his seat.

The room was silent for a moment, and then he heard everyone getting up and running over to him, lifting him out of his chair and encircling him in a tight hug.

Kurt laughed as a few stray tears slid out of his eyes, burying his head into Rachel's shoulder.

Mr. Shue dismissed everyone early, knowing that no one else really wanted to go after Kurt's moving performance.

Rachel tugged his hand as he was walking out of the room, stopping him in his path. She put her phone in his hand, screen up, and gestured for him to look at it.

"I told him you were singing," she said softly. "Blaine."

Kurt glanced at the phone, smiling at the message.

_Tell him that he's amazing, Rachel. Tell him that I've never met anyone like him._

Kurt felt his heart flutter a little as he smiled at the message.

"I don't know what you two have," she whispered after a few moments, extracting her phone from Kurt's hands. "But it's something good. Don't lose it."

* * *

><p><strong>lsjflksajl my babies<strong>

**baby kurt was just so sad this chapter. I just want to wrap him up and tell him it's all going to be okay.**

**Sorry if this chapter seems rushed with the time...The rest of Kurt's freshman year is going to go fairly quickly because everything's going to happen in his sophomore/junior year basically**

**Because...yanno...Blaine will be in high school..**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, and Breakaway belongs to Kelly Clarkson**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I've decided to make Never Been Kissed happen during Kurt's sophomore year. Because then that way I can have more together Klaine interaction... o_O**

**You're all going to enjoy this chapter, I think...**

* * *

><p>Before Kurt knew it, he was handing in his last exam before Christmas break. Which also meant that he wouldn't have to come back here, or touch another textbook, for two whole weeks.<p>

So when his father picked him up from school that day, Kurt practically flounced to the car, plopping himself in the passenger seat and grinning at his father.

"You're in a good mood," Burt grinned, pulling out of the parking lot. Kurt just nodded and continued to smile, noting a couple of the jocks giving him obscene gestures. He glanced at his dad, who luckily hadn't notice.

"It's almost Christmas," Kurt breathed, relieved that his father hadn't seen what the jocks were doing.

"And you're sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you're seeing Blaine tomorrow?"

Kurt felt himself flushing a little, shooting his dad the look that he gave him every time he said something like that. "It's not like that," Kurt whined. He was actually getting sick of having this conversation. "I've told you that."

Burt chuckled and patted his knee as he pulled into the driveway. "I know," he responded, winking as he hopped out of the car. "It's just fun to tease you, you know?"

Kurt flushed again, silently thanking everything that may be holy that it only took about three minutes to get home. He grabbed his book bag and got out of the car, slowly walking into the house and dropping his bag as soon as he walked in.

He was free. For two weeks, at least. No bullies, no slushies, no looks of disgust or hatred. It was just him and his dad and his friends.

Which would explain why Burt walked into the living room to find Kurt passed out on the couch, clutching a pillow with his head buried into the cushions on the back of the couch.

His kid was growing up, but sometimes he still reminded him of the little boy he used to be.

* * *

><p>Kurt grumbled in his sleep, rolling over onto his back and attempting to stretch.<p>

However, that plan failed when he sent himself toppling onto the floor and off the couch. Well, that was one way to wake yourself up.

The first thing he noticed was that it was definitely the morning, meaning that he'd slept from the moment he came home from school till now – whatever time it happened to be.

The second thing was that his stomach was growling very, _very _loudly. But, really, what did he expect when he was a growing boy who hadn't eaten dinner?

He stood up and quietly padded into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and stretching the stiff muscles in his shoulders. That was the _last _time that he slept on the couch.

Grumbling a little to himself, he opened the refrigerator, vaguely catching a glimpse of his dad from the corner of his eye. He rummaged around, noting that they had all the ingredients for scrambled eggs.

"Do you want some eggs?" Kurt asked his dad, his voice scratchy with sleep.

"No, I already ate breakfast, but thanks."

Kurt stopped his looking in the fridge, his eyes widening a little.

That was definitely not his father's voice.

He slowly turned around, shutting the fridge as he did so, his eyes shocked and a little cautious as to what he would see. But he knew that voice – it was one he hadn't heard in almost a month.

"Sorry I scared you," Blaine said once Kurt was fully facing him. "Your dad was heading out for work when I arrived, so he told me you were still sleeping and to just make myself comfortable…"

Kurt gulped the lump that had formed in his throat, suddenly realizing that if his dad was at work, that meant that –

"It's already 11 o'clock?" Kurt asked, his voice panicked. "Why didn't you wake me! We were supposed to go Christmas Shopping at 10:30!"

Blaine shrugged and stood up, walking over to Kurt and smiling. "I didn't want to wake you," he said. "You've had a rough time…You needed your sleep."

Kurt nodded and couldn't really argue, because he knew it was true.

"But if you get dressed, we can go now," Blaine said after a few moments.

Kurt nodded and grinned before turning and planning on walking down the stairs to his room.

"Oh, and Kurt?"

Kurt turned to look at Blaine again right as he reached the first step.

"I missed you."

A grin broke out on Kurt's face, and before he knew what he was doing he was striding over to Blaine, throwing his arms around the younger boy's neck and burying his face in his shoulder. Blaine's own arms wrapped around him, holding him tight.

"I missed you, too," Kurt whispered. "It's so hard doing this by myself sometimes."

Blaine sighed and nodded. "I wish you could just come to Dalton," he said. "Everything would be so much easier."

Kurt nodded and released Blaine, backing up a few steps.

Blaine looked like he was about to say something else when his eyes caught site of Kurt's pajamas. Kurt questioningly looked down, thinking that his dad must have put him into his pajamas last night, since _he _didn't remember doing it.

But of course his dad had put him in a pair that he never wore – refused to wear, actually.

The ones with the fire trucks on the bottoms.

"There's fire trucks on your bottoms," Blaine said, the corners of his lips twitching as he tried to hold back his laughter.

And Kurt had never been more thankful that he was just wearing plain white t-shirt.

"I approve," Blaine added after a moment. "My puppy pajamas and your fire truck ones could have fun together."

Kurt's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Blaine. He wasn't usually one for picking out innuendos, but sometimes realization just hit him and –

"Oh my god!" Blaine cried, covering his face with his hands, his ears slowly turning red. "I didn't mean it like that! I'm an innocent boy, Kurt, I swear!"

Kurt smiled at Blaine, at how defensive he was getting, and then he laughed. A genuine laugh. He hadn't laughed like that in a few months, at least.

"But," Kurt said in between laughs. "Your _face _Blaine!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Blaine pleaded, his voice squeaking a little as it rose.

"I know you didn't," Kurt responded, laughter still rifling through him. "But just your _reaction. _Priceless."

Blaine frowned and shooed him towards his room. "Get dressed and stop making fun of me!" He cried as Kurt descended the stairs.

"Can't help it!" Kurt called back. "You're too easy to make fun of!"

* * *

><p>The next few days went by quickly, at least in Kurt's opinion. He helped his dad decorate the house for Christmas – putting up the tree, stringing lights on the outside of the house, wrapping gifts, and making lists of food Kurt would need for their Christmas Eve dinner.<p>

Like usual, it would just be the two of them. But it was what they were used to – it was what they liked.

So when Christmas Eve finally arrived, Kurt was basically a big ball of excitement. The Anderson-Berry's were coming over tomorrow for Christmas day, and they were bringing the turkey, meaning that Kurt only had to prepare side dishes and a few desserts.

As he and his father gathered around the table that night, linking their hands together and saying grace to no one in particular, Kurt realized that, even though sometimes life was harder for him than he'd like, everything was just the way he would want it to be.

"…and thank you for my family," Burt said, his eyes shut as he continued to pray. "Thank you for Kurt, and for just having him be the amazing boy he is."

Kurt smiled at his father, feeling a small flutter in his chest as he realized that he really did just have the best dad anyone could ask for.

"Let's eat," Burt said once he finished. "I'm starving, and smelling this while it cooked all day was torture."

* * *

><p>Kurt woke up the next morning to the sound of his father rummaging through the fridge.<p>

"Hey," Kurt chastised as he walked into the kitchen. "I make pancakes on Christmas, remember?"

Burt gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look, slowly closing the refrigerator. "I – I just wasn't sure when you'd be up – and –"

Kurt laughed and shook his head fondly. "Come on, old man," he said, grabbing his father's hand and dragging him into the living room. "I want to give you your present."

He sat him down on the couch, going to grab the small package from under the tree. Smiling shyly, he held it out to Burt, who took it in his hands and gave it a soft shake.

"Just open it."

Burt slowly slid the perfectly creased wrapping paper off of the box, opening the lid and peeling away the tissue paper.

"Kurt –"

"I know it's not much," Kurt went on. "But I just wanted to get you something to thank you for – for always being there for me and –"

Burt set the package down next to him and stood up, wrapping Kurt in his arms tightly.

"I'll always be here for you," he whispered, his voice passionate. "You hear me? I'm not going anywhere."

Kurt nodded and glanced over at the package, thanking that his gift had gone over a lot better than he originally planned.

Who knew a 'World's Best Dad' mug would get that kind of reaction out of Burt?

* * *

><p>By the time the Anderson-Berry's arrived later that evening, Kurt had never felt happier in his entire life. He was wearing the dark green scarf his father had given him, knowing that it brought out the faint hints of green in his blue eyes.<p>

"Come in," he heard Burt say from where he was in the kitchen, followed by footsteps. "Kurt's in the kitchen if you want to –"

And then there was the sound of Rachel's shrill squealing, followed by a blur of girl coming towards him as she engulfed him in a hug.

"Merry Christmas!" She cried, planting a small kiss on his cheek and grinning. "Oh my god, Kurt, it smells _amazing."_

"I made you some meatless items, Ms. Vegan," Kurt said, grinning a little. "So don't worry."

Rachel smiled and hugged him again, Kurt rolling his eyes but hugging her back nonetheless.

He saw Blaine leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his eyes soft and a smile playing across his lips.

"Rachel," Kurt said, straining to get out of her grasp. "I'm going to say hi to your brother now, so…"

Rachel released him, a small smile forming as she quickly rushed from the kitchen.

Once she had left, Blaine stood upright and walked over to where Kurt was standing, stopping a few feet away.

"Merry Christmas," Kurt whispered as he took in Blaine's appearance. His hair was slicked back, and he was wearing a Christmas, but not disgustingly so, sweater.

"You too." Blaine paused for a moment, taking his hand that had been hiding behind his back, revealing a gift wrapped box. "I got you something."

"We're not exchanging presents until after dinner," Kurt told him.

"I know," Blaine replied. "But I want you to open it now, when it's just us."

Kurt nodded and took the package from him, slowly unwrapping it and setting the wrapping paper on the floor. He slowly lifted the lid, feeling his eyes crease when he saw what was inside.

It was a picture of him and Blaine, lounging on the Anderson-Berry living room floor as they watched the _Lion King. _Kurt's head was tilted to the side, his eyes crinkled in way that showed him he was laughing at Blaine.

And underneath the picture of them, there were the word 'Courage' in bold, blue letters.

"Blaine –" Kurt started, but he didn't know how to finish the sentence.

"Do you not like it?" Blaine asked anxiously. "Because I can get you something else. I just thought that since you don't have many pictures in your room, and this way I can sort of always be around to help you and –"

"I love it, Blaine," Kurt assured him, smiling up at the younger boy. Wait…up? "Have you grown?"

Blaine grinned and straightened even more. "Yes," he said triumphantly. "Just an inch or so, but I'm taller than you now."

Kurt snorted and shook his head. "Well I still have to have my growth spurt," he told Blaine. "So we'll just have to wait and see."

Blaine laughed along with Kurt.

"I hope that wasn't your growth spurt though," Kurt said after a moment. "Because then you'd be borderline hobbit size."

"Hey!" Blaine whined. "I am not a hobbit. I'm just a little boy."

"A little boy who goes to a fancy private school and is going to be a freshman in high school next year," Kurt replied, nudging Blaine's shoulder a little.

But before Blaine could respond, a shrill squeal came from the doorway. Kurt turned to see Rachel's eyes glowing as she pointed to something on the ceiling.

Kurt felt his heart stop as realization sunk in, slowly turning his head to look at the ceiling.

"How the hell did that get there?" Kurt asked. "I didn't put that there!"

"Language, Kurt!" Burt yelled from the living room.

Kurt scoffed and glared at Rachel, who was practically bouncing with excitement. "You have to!" She squealed. "It's the rules."

"I'm convinced you put it there," Kurt mumbled to himself, shaking his head and finally glancing at Blaine.

"We don't have to," Blaine whispered, his voice soft and tender. "If it makes you uncomfortable –"

Kurt shook his head, swallowing the lump in his throat nervously. "I'm okay with it," Kurt said. "She's not going to let us not do it either."

Blaine nodded, and Kurt could see the nervousness radiating off of him.

So he took the initiative. He took a step forward and gently leaned in, pressing his lips softly to Blaine's. He felt Blaine freeze under him for a moment before he started kissing Kurt back, his hand slowly coming up to cup Kurt's cheek.

It sent tingles up his spine, the soft sensations of Blaine's lips on his making his mind go a little hazy.

This is what kissing was like.

This is what kissing _boys _was like.

His lips moved against Blaine's, the feeling of his hand on his cheek making him a little weak in the knees.

And then the moment was over, and Kurt was pulling away. He looked into Blaine's hazel eyes, which were boring into his own. He felt a blush creeping up his neck and face slowly, knowing that his ears were turning red.

He turned towards were Rachel was standing, planning on giving the girl an 'are you happy now?' look. But he only found an empty doorway.

He sighed and turned back to Blaine, who was equally as red as he was. "At least she had a little tact," Blaine said, his voice quiet and shy.

Kurt nodded and swallowed loudly. "That doesn't change anything between us, right?"

Blaine got a relieved look on his face, letting out a long withheld breath. "No," he smiled. "It doesn't.

* * *

><p>Dinner went smoothly, Rachel only shooting them curious glances a few times.<p>

And then they were all gathered under the tree, exchanging presents with one another and laughing and smiling.

"Kurt, we got something that will be useful to you eventually," Hiram said as he handed Kurt a small gift bag. "It's from the both of us."

Kurt grinned and took the tissue paper out of the bag, looking inside. However, it wasn't _quite _what he was expecting.

Inside the bag was a box of condoms and a bottle of…lube? Kurt didn't even really know what that _was, _but he assumed it had something to do with…what the condoms were used for.

His eyes wide, he looked up at Rachel's dads, knowing that his face had paled and that he looked panicked.

And then the two broke out into fits of laughter. "We're not telling you to use them _now,"_ Leroy laughed. "Just so you're, you know, prepared."

Kurt blushed and ducked his head. Hiram leaned a little closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, we got Blaine some too."

"What is it?" Burt asked curiously, trying to peer into the bag.

"N-nothing," Kurt stammered, scrunching the bag up tightly. "I-It's nothing."

But Burt grinned at him knowingly.

"What did you get him?" Blaine asked after a few moments. "He looks like he just saw a ghost."

"Not quite," Kurt muttered, causing Blaine to shoot him another curious glance.

"Don't worry, son," Leroy said, smirking at Blaine. "We got you the same thing. You'll find out tonight."

Kurt flushed a little more, laughing as Blaine continued to look confused.

"I don't really know what's going on," Rachel said after a moment, breaking the awkwardness that had formed in the room. "So I'm just going to get another piece of pie."

* * *

><p>Kurt woke up to a text from Blaine the next morning.<p>

_Oh my god, Kurt, I'm traumatized._

Kurt chuckled and rolled his eyes fondly.

_**Did they give you the whole 'I don't expect you to use them yet' talk?**_

_My parents are literally the worst ever._

Kurt laughed again, thinking back to the night before.

And that's when it actually hit him.

He had his first kiss last night.

_He had his first kiss last night._

His heart fluttered in his chest a little as he remembered Blaine's soft lips on his own, the small intake of breath he'd taken, the way his hazel eyes bore into his own once they broke apart.

_Blaine is just your friend, _he reminded himself. _You're still friends. It didn't change anything. You only did it because of the mistletoe._

That was all it was for now. Friends. I shared kiss under mistletoe.

But it was still a better first kiss then he could ever imagine.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm just going to go and watch you all flail via review...<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

"Bud, come on," Burt yelled to Kurt's room from the kitchen a few weeks later. "You're appointment's in ten minutes!"

Kurt huffed as he quickly touched up one last strand of his hair. "Hang on," he hollered back while he grabbed his coat.

"The dentist doesn't like to be kept waiting!"

Kurt groaned and ran down the stairs. It was his last day of Christmas break, the last thing he wanted to do was go to the dentist. His ideal day would have been to call up Rachel or Blaine and just hang out, maybe watch a movie or go shopping.

But no. He was going to the dentist.

"Finally," Burt said when he saw him, practically pushing him out of the door. "Now get in the car!"

Kurt sighed and hopped into the passenger seat. It wasn't that he hated the dentist, more of the fact that it wasn't where he wanted to be that day.

"Oh, stop moping," Burt told him as they pulled out of the driveway. "It's just a cleaning – half hour tops."

Kurt sighed again but nodded. Maybe he could call Blaine once he was done. Blaine was going back to Dalton on Monday as well, meaning that Kurt would only be able to see him on the occasional weekend.

Burt must have noticed his change in mood. He turned his head towards him, cocking it slightly to the right. "What's wrong?" He asked. "You got all quiet there. And you look kind of mopey."

"It's nothing," Kurt replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Burt grunted and gave his attention back to the road. "Right," he scoffed. "Like I'll believe that."

Kurt sighed again but didn't reply.

"Is it Blaine?" Burt asked.

Kurt flushed a little before nodding tentatively. "He's going back to Dalton tomorrow," he said quietly.

Burt nodded. "You guys got pretty close over the break."

Kurt shrugged. It was true. After Christmas, and their small kiss under the mistletoe, things had changed. But it wasn't the weird, awkward kind of change they had been expecting. Instead, it just made their friendship stronger – the fact that they shared their first kiss with each other seeming seal their friendship.

"I'm glad it was with you," Blaine had said a few days after the kiss. "I mean, I'd rather have it with you than with someone I'm not comfortable with."

And Kurt agreed 100%. He was glad he got to at least somewhat enjoy his first kiss, even if it had meant nothing.

Sometimes, however, he would be sitting there, thinking if it really _had _meant nothing. Or if it had actually meant something, but he was just too young and naïve to see it.

"I guess," Kurt responded. "He's really one of the only friends I have."

Burt sighed as he pulled into the parking lot, turning to face Kurt once they were stopped. "You're an amazing kid, Kurt," he said, placing his hand on Kurt's knee and squeezing gently. "I know you're kind of going through a tough time right now, but the other kids – they just don't know what to think. But there's _nothing _wrong with you, okay?"

Kurt nodded, ducking his head so his father couldn't see the tears threatening to pour out of his eyes.

"And if anyone starts giving you crap about it – like real, bullying crap – you come straight to me, got it?"

Kurt froze. He couldn't respond, couldn't look at his dad in the eye, couldn't _move._

"You understand me?" Burt asked again.

Kurt took a deep breath and nodded.

"Good," Burt said, patting his shoulder before getting out of the car. "Now let's get this thing over with."

They walked into the dentist's office, but Kurt felt extremely guilty. He didn't know how he'd just lied to his dad like that, but he had. He knew about the middle school bullying – the slurs, the occasional shove – but he had no idea how it escalated at McKinley.

The dumpster tosses, the slushy facials, the locker shoves – he knew that was the kind of thing his dad was referring to.

And he knew he should tell him. Blaine had told him to tell him.

But he couldn't. He couldn't worry him like that. He'd already had to worry about Kurt more than he should have since his mother's death, he didn't need more to worry about.

Kurt took a shaky breath as he sat down in a waiting chair, distracting himself with a magazine.

"Kurt," the hygienist said after a few moments, in which Kurt had eventually realized he was holding the magazine upside down. "You can come back now."

Kurt nodded and stood up, following her into the back. Instead of individual rooms, all of the chairs were placed in a circle in a large room, all of the patients conveniently located in one area.

"Alright, take a seat in the third chair and we'll be with you in a minute."

Kurt nodded and did as he was told, making himself comfortable as he stared up at the ceiling.

He heard a small whimper from a few chairs over. There were only a few people there, each a few chairs away.

But that whimper – well, it made Kurt curious.

Glancing over, he prepared himself for the wave of sympathy he was about to feel for whatever child was crying.

So what he saw completely surprised him.

The boy was turned away from him, curled in on his side a little while it looked like he waited for the dentist to come. But he looked about Kurt's age, his hair curly and his appearance stressed and perplexed and –

The boy shifted a little then, Kurt catching a glimpse of his face. His jaw dropped a little, his eyes widening.

It was _Blaine. _

He whimpered again, shifting a little more so that he was sitting forward in his chair, his hands clenched in front of him and his bottom lip quivering.

Kurt didn't know what to do. He wanted to go over there and talk to him or _something, _but he didn't want to embarrass Blaine.

But then Blaine sniffled and let out a little sob, reaching into his pocket to pull out a tissue.

Kurt's heart broke. Blaine was _prepared. _He must have been expecting this then, meaning that he was probably afraid of the dentist.

Well that settled it.

"Blaine," Kurt whispered, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. "Blaine."

Blaine slowly looked over at him, his eyes watery and his forehead creased.

Kurt figured that the hygienist wouldn't be back for a while, so he quickly got up and dropped into the chair at Blaine's side.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked, not sure what to do. "Are you okay?"

Kurt blanched at his own question. Of _course _Blaine wasn't okay. His cheeks were tearstained and his lip was quivering.

"Blaine, it's okay," Kurt soothed, grabbing one of his hands and giving it a squeeze. "It's okay."

Blaine sniffled again and looked down at his lap. "I don't like the dentist," he mumbled. "I told my dads that I'd be fine this time and that they didn't have to stay, so they didn't, but –"

"But you were just trying to be brave," Kurt finished for him. "It's okay to be scared of the dentist. I don't like the normal doctor."

Blaine nodded a little, gripping Kurt's hand a little tighter as some piece of equipment came from a few chairs over. "But you probably don't cry," he said after a few moments.

"When they give me shots I do," Kurt told him. "I don't like needles."

Blaine's hand started shaking in his a little again, Kurt gripping it tighter and running his thumb against the back side of it.

"Shh," Kurt cooed as Blaine pinched his eyes shut again. "It'll be fine."

"No it won't," Blaine all but sobbed, the tears starting to well up in his eyes again. "Kurt, they're filling a cavity and – and what if they do something wrong and they chip my tongue or something – and –"

"Blaine," Kurt said, his voice stern but comforting. "Calm down. It isn't going to help if you work yourself up like that."

Blaine nodded, but his breathing was still hitched.

"Take deep breaths," Kurt told him. "Come on, calm down."

Blaine did as he was told, taking deep breaths and closing his eyes, attempting to calm himself.

Kurt kept his hand firmly on Blaine's, knowing that Blaine needed any kind of reassurance he could get right now.

"Alright, Blaine," the dentist said as she came over and sat on the other side of him. She looked at Kurt curiously for a moment. "Is this one of your friends?"

Blaine nodded, and Kurt could feel his pulse rising as the panic started to take over him again.

"I know you're here for your own cleaning," she said, "But do you think you could maybe stay while he gets his filling? I saw how calm you got him."

Kurt nodded instantly. He could stay a little longer to help Blaine.

"I'll send the hygienist out to tell your dad," she said. "Thank you. I was a little apprehensive when I saw his parents leaving."

Kurt sighed, giving his attention back to Blaine, whose bottom lip had started quivering again.

"Blaine," the dentist said. "The sooner you open your mouth the sooner I'm finished, okay?"

Blaine opened his mouth a little.

"Come on, Blaine," Kurt said, gripping Blaine's hand a little tighter. "Just a little more, okay?"

Blaine did so after a few moments, cringing as the dentist got to work. He clenched his eyes shut, his grip on Kurt's hand so tight Kurt was concerned he was going to lose feeling in it. But Blaine needed this – Blaine needed _him. _

God, it felt weird saying that. Blaine was always the one giving him advice, always the one helping and comforting him.

It felt nice being needed.

Kurt saw tears bubbling out of Blaine's eyes again as the dentist took a tool out and turned it on, starting to move it into Blaine's mouth.

"No, no no no," Kurt said. "Please don't cry, Blaine. Don't cry."

But it didn't help – the tears continued to pool out of his eyes.

By that point, Kurt was pretty sure his hand was going to fall off. He continued to rub his thumb against the top of Blaine's hand, trying to keep the boy at least a little calm.

About twenty minutes later, the dentist stood up and took off her gloves. "You're all set, Blaine," she said. "I think your parents are in the waiting room now."

Blaine didn't move, keeping his eyes shut and his body tense.

"You did a lot better than usual this time," she told him, smiling a little at him as she patted his hair fondly. "You didn't bite me this time."

Kurt chuckled a little, watching as Blaine cracked a small smile. She laughed and patted his hair again before walking to a different chair.

Blaine's eyes opened as soon as she was gone. They were bloodshot and red rimmed, making him look like he'd just gone weeks without sleep.

He released Kurt's hand, Kurt instantly flinching as the tingling pain that shot through it.

"Sorry," Blaine said, flushing a little. "I'm told I have quite a grip at the dentist."

"I have proof," Kurt replied. "Once my hand falls off, I can show it to everyone who may have to endure this in the future."

Blaine laughed. "Thank you, though," he said after a moment. "It – You really helped."

Kurt shrugged. "It wasn't a problem," he replied. "You would have done the same for me."

Blaine grinned and pulled Kurt in for a hug. "You are really the best friend I could ask for," he whispered into Kurt's shoulder. "Rachel wouldn't even do that for me."

Kurt laughed again as Blaine released him, blushing slightly at how close they were.

"For the record," Kurt said after a minute of just standing there awkwardly. "I'm glad that our kiss didn't change anything between us."

"Me too," Blaine responded. "I was actually worried about that. I didn't want things to get awkward between us, and –"

"I know," Kurt interrupted him. "I was afraid of that happening, too."

* * *

><p>That week, school was the same as it had been before the break. It was almost as if there hadn't been a break at all. Kurt found himself returning home after Glee rehearsal and shutting himself in his room with his homework, only emerging when his father called him for dinner.<p>

But, even though it may have seemed that the bullying had at least been toned down a little, it hadn't. He was thrown into a dumpster right away on Monday, slushied on Tuesday, lunch tray dumped on Wednesday.

It was something every day, and every day Kurt felt just a little worse.

It wasn't that he was ashamed with himself. It was just that he was tired of this. He was _tired _of the bullying. He just wanted everyone to accept him for who he was.

But this was Ohio. He knew that it wouldn't happen for a long, long time.

But Thursday was particularly bad.

Kurt walked into school like normal, avoiding attracting any attention to himself and keeping his head down and his book bag light so that if he was pushed into a locker he wouldn't fall as hard. He'd learned that one the hard way.

Try as he might, though, it seemed like Karofsky had radar on Kurt. His ability to find him amongst a crowd was practically uncanny.

Which is how Kurt found himself closing his locker and finding a group of seven jocks surrounding him, each with a slushy cup in their hands.

"Well, looky here," Karofsky sneered, taking a small step closer.

"Leave me alone," Kurt squeaked as he pressed himself against his locker. "Haven't you tortured me enough this week?"

Karofsky laughed, followed by the laughs of the other jocks. "Come on, Hummel," he said, his voice practically filled with venom. "You deserve this."

"Why?" Kurt asked, and he felt something in him practically explode at Karofsky's words. "Because I'm gay? What's so wrong with that, Karofsky? I'm still a person."

"Not really," Karofsky jeered. "You're a _fairy._"

Kurt could feel himself snapping. He clenched his fists beside him, taking a deep breath in order to control himself. He couldn't lose it in front of all those jocks – he wouldn't make it out alive.

"Just get out of my face," Kurt said between clenched teeth.

"I will," Karofsky replied. "Right after this."

And then there were eight cups of slushy being thrown at his face, the cold, sticky ice splashing on him everywhere.

He heard the sounds of their laughter as they walked away, their loud talking and their praise of Karofsky.

The slush was stinging his eyes, and _god _it was so much worse when it was more than one. He was shivering, his clothes completely soaked in blue corn syrup and –

Oh god, it was the blue kind.

Kurt felt his stomach clench as he dry heaved into his mouth, quickly stumbling up and into the girls' bathroom.

He hated blue slushies. Ever since that one time when he was little and he threw one up, he hadn't been able to drink one without feeling sick.

He stumbled into the nearest stall and promptly threw up in the toilet.

Once he had finished and his stomach was empty of all contents, Kurt slowly stood up. He continued to shiver as he made his way to the sink, turning the water on and waiting for it to heat up. He was good at this by now, but it was going to be a lot harder since he had more than one cup's content worth of slushy on him.

As he cleaned up his face, one of the bathroom stalls slowly opened. A slim girl with blonde hair, dressed in a cheerios uniform, walked out of the stall, her expression sheepish.

"Oh," Kurt said, because yeah, he was a boy in the girls' bathroom. He didn't know if girls would actually care or not since he was gay, but he'd rather be safe than sorry. "I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here. I can just –"

The girl shook her head. "No, it's fine," she reassured him. She looked him over once, and if Kurt wasn't mistaken he noted a bit of sympathy in her eyes.

Kurt nodded and continued cleaning himself, wincing as he attempted to get the stickiness out of his hair.

"Here," the girl said after a moment. "Let me help you." She took a few steps closer before grabbing the paper towel out of his hands, dampening it and wiping the slush off of his lips. "The taste makes you sick, doesn't it?"

Kurt nodded. He didn't even know this girl's name. All he knew was that she was a Cheerio and that she really shouldn't be helping him.

"I know how it feels," she said after a minute.

Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes a little.

"No, really," she said. "Everyone used to make fun of me at my old school. I was fat and had red hair and wore glasses. I know what it's like being an outcast."

Kurt sighed, trying to keep the tears in his eyes.

"I'm Quinn, by the way," she said after a moment. "And you're Kurt."

Kurt nodded but didn't reply. Normally, he'd ask why the girl even knew his name. But right now he just didn't care.

"How long has this been going on?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Since the first day of school," he told her quietly.

"Have you told anyone?"

Kurt bit his lip for a moment. "Only my friend and her brother know," he said softly.

The girl threw the paper towel away and went to get another one. "You should tell an adult," she said. "This isn't something that should be taken lightly."

"I can't tell my dad," he replied. "He worries too much."

"You have to tell someone," she insisted.

Kurt shook his head. "No, no it's fine," he whispered. "I've gone this long handling it by myself."

"But it's getting worse," Quinn stated. "And it's only going to get worse."

"If it gets any worse, I'll tell someone," Kurt snapped, and he knew he really shouldn't be snapping at her since she was helping him. "But for now I don't need to."

"…Okay," she said after a moment. She went back to attempting to get the slush out of his hair.

"I'm sorry, you know," she said after a moment. "I'm sorry everyone gives you crap for being gay."

Kurt shrugged, his eyes trained on the tiles on the ground.

"You shouldn't have to deal with that," she said.

"Well, it doesn't matter if I should or shouldn't," Kurt replied sharply. "Because I do."

Quinn sighed but moved to wipe the slushy off of his arms.

"How long were you in there?" He asked. "You must have been in there before I got here if you heard me throw up."

Quinn nodded, her expression almost sheepish. "I – yeah," she said. "I was hoping you would leave and not notice I was in here, but then I realized you wouldn't be leaving for a while."

Kurt looked at her, cocking his head to the side and studying her – her sheepish stance, the way she avoided his glance.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I didn't want you to see me like this."

Kurt looked at the girl, finally noticing her red rimmed eyes and her tear stained cheeks.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her eyes misting a little again. "It's just stupid boy drama," she said. "Just my boyfriend being a jerk."

Kurt nodded slowly, patting her shoulder awkwardly.

She smiled softly at him, her eyes lighting up a little. "Don't go into a relationship blind," she said after a moment. "Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into."

Kurt nodded. "Don't worry," he replied. "I'm definitely not ready for anything like that."

She threw her paper towel away, gave him one last smile, and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Kurt to ponder for a moment.

How come the only person on his mind during the last part of his conversation with Quinn was Blaine?

* * *

><p>"Dad, I'm home!"<p>

Kurt had walked home after Glee rehearsal. It was nice enough outside, and it was better than waiting for his dad to come and pick him up.

But he walked into the house to find him sitting on the couch with his arms crossed.

"I got a call from your school today," he said stiffly.

Kurt froze, his eyes widening. "Uh – what about?"

"From the principal," he went on. "He said you've been missing a lot of classes."

Kurt should have known something like this would eventually come up. He practically was forced to miss class whenever he was slushied or tossed into a dumpster – those things took some time to clean up.

"I think you owe me an explanation," Burt said.

Kurt didn't respond. He dropped his eyes to the floor, standing still and avoiding any eye contact.

"Kurt," Burt scolded. "I'm not sending you to school so you can skip class. What are you even doing during that time? If you're getting in a bad crowd and are smoking and doing drugs and –"

"I'm not doing that kind of stuff!" Kurt yelled. "God, why would you even _think _that?"

"Well I'm _sorry _I'm confused," Burt replied, his voice growing louder. "I'm having a little trouble trusting you right now when I just found out you've been _skipping _classes."

"I'm not skipping classes!" Kurt replied.

"Yes, you are!"

"Not on purpose!"

"Don't go blaming this on someone else, Kurt. You're old enough were things are your own responsibility. I expected more from you, and –"

"DAMMIT," Kurt yelled. He'd been on edge all day. Ever since he had the urge to throttle Karofsky that morning, all he wanted to do was throw something at his wall and scream into his pillow.

"Watch your language, young man," Burt scolded. "Now I want an explanation right this minute."

"I'm missing class because I'm having slushies thrown at me and am being tossed into dumpsters on a daily basis!" Kurt screamed, the angry tears burning his eyes. "Are you happy? Is that the answer you wanted?"

His dad's face instantly paled, his clenched fists loosening at his sides.

Kurt glared at him once more before storming down to his room, slamming the door behind him.

So much for not telling his dad.

_**Are you coming home this weekend?**_

Kurt waited for Blaine to respond, simply curled up on his bed and clutching his phone.

_I wasn't planning on it. Did something happen?_

Kurt sighed, pressing Blaine's number again and holding it to his ear.

"Hello?" Blaine picked up on the second ring. "Kurt, is everything okay?"

So Kurt told him. He told him everything – about the eight-part slushy, about his conversation with Quinn, about his fight with his dad.

"Well at least he knows now," Blaine said after a few moments of silence.

"I didn't want him to know," Kurt whispered, not even sure Blaine could hear him.

"But Kurt," Blaine pleaded. "It's better that he knows in case – in case it gets worse."

"I'm not worth his worrying," Kurt said. "He shouldn't have to worry about me."

"Kurt," Blaine said. "Kurt, you _are _worth it. You're his son and he's _proud _of you. He _loves _you. He's your dad – it's his job to be worried about you."

"I'm such a hassle though," Kurt replied. "All I ever do is bring anxiety to his life."

"Kurt Hummel, you stop that right now," Blaine said. "Look, you're amazing and I don't know why others can't see that. You don't deserve to be treated like this."

Kurt sighed. He knew Blaine was right. It was just that sometimes he let it get to him, let himself actually believe that he was as worthless as the bullies always said he was.

"Blaine," he said softly after a moment.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>Why do I torture my children so?<strong>

**Why can they not see how in love with each other they are?**

**Okay, so in other matters I've gotten a livejournal where i post all my WIP's too. So if that's where you prefer to read, it's available :) There's a link on my profile :)**

**Thanks for reading XD**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi. So i hit my post limit on Tumblr which left me with no distractions.**

**So you can thank the stupid tumblr rules for this update being today instead of tomorrow.**

* * *

><p>Kurt decided that he was walking to school the next morning, mainly because he didn't want to have to deal with his dad in the car. For some reason, he always used his time with Kurt in the car to discuss something he wouldn't normally discuss with him. Probably because Kurt couldn't escape like he could anywhere else.<p>

Quickly grabbing a granola bar, he shouldered his satchel and began to walk out of the house.

"Kurt, we need to talk."

Kurt didn't turn, didn't even flinch at his father's voice.

"Not now," he replied, his voice tight. "We'll talk after school."

"Kurt –"

"I don't want to deal with this right now," Kurt said, his hand paused on the doorknob.

"At least let me drive –"

"No," Kurt cut him off, opening the door. "I'm walking."

And with that he shut the door. He knew his father didn't deserve to be treated like this, but Kurt was still mad about their fight last night.

* * *

><p>Rachel wasn't at school that day, so he sat by himself at lunch. He slowly ate his lunch, not really hungry but knowing if he didn't eat his stomach would later scold him for it.<p>

At least he was eating until Karofsky came up and shoved his tray off the table, laughing as he walked back to his friends.

Kurt didn't even bat an eye. He just slowly stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.

No one noticed.

No one ever noticed.

Except someone apparently had this time.

"Kurt," a soft voice came from behind him.

Kurt turned to see Mr. Shue looking at him, his forehead creased with worry. "Are you okay?"

Kurt shrugged and turned back to his locker, slowly turning the dial.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Kurt, I really think you should talk to someone –"

"My dad already knows," Kurt said, his voice thick. "He may not know the extent, but he knows the gist of it."

But –"

"No, Mr. Shue," Kurt sighed and turned around, holding his books to his chest. "Since I've apparently 'chosen' to live this way, I should probably get used to living like this, shouldn't I? This is how the rest of my life is going to be, if not worse."

Mr. Shue opened his mouth to speak, but Kurt turned and walked away.

…..

_Are you okay?_

_Kuuuurt?_

_Kurt why aren't you answering me?_

Every time he got a text from Blaine, he would just stare at it, not responding. He didn't know what to say. He felt like he relied on Blaine too much – the only time he ever felt okay about himself being when he was talking to Blaine.

He would feel good, normal, loved.

And then he would hang up the phone and it would all go away.

At Glee, Mr. Shue talked about how they needed to recruit if they wanted to be able to perform in competitions the next year.

And then when the final bell rang, Kurt bolted out of there and all but ran home.

He was surprised to find his father sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

"Before you run off," Burt said, his voice a little choked. "I'm telling you that I heard you on the phone with Blaine last night."

Kurt froze, his bag slowly slipping off of his shoulder and onto the floor.

"Kurt," Burt stood up, slowly walking towards Kurt and placing his hands on his shoulders. "Is – Is that how you really feel?"

Kurt nodded slowly, tentatively, the tears welling in his eyes.

"Kurt, you're not a hassle," Burt said, wrapping his arms around Kurt and holding him tight. "You're _not, _Kurt. And I worry about you because you're my _son. _Even – Even if your mom was still around, I'd still worry about you just as much."

"But you shouldn't have to," Kurt choked into his shoulder. "You – you shouldn't have to worry about me so much."

"Kurt, that's my _job," _Burt laughed softly. "I'm your dad. It's how it works."

Kurt sobbed into his shoulder, clutching his shirt in his hands. "It's just so hard," he choked. "It's so hard, Dad."

"I know, bud," he said softly, rubbing the back of Kurt's head. "But you're strong. You'll figure it out."

They stayed like that for who knows how long, Kurt silently sobbing into his father's shoulder as he held him.

"I'm so proud of you, Kurt," he said after a moment. "Your mom would be too." He paused, his hand continuing to pat Kurt's hair. "Don't give up, okay?" He said after a moment. "Just – don't give up."

"I won't," Kurt whispered. "I won't."

* * *

><p>But even though things with his dad cleared up, everything at school stayed the same. Karofsky continued to shove him into lockers and throw slush at his face. And still nobody ever noticed, nobody ever did anything about it.<p>

Rachel, who he thought was his one comrade, was now too busy pursuing one Finn Hudson to even show an ounce of concern for Kurt at school. Granted, whenever he was at her house, her concern for him was almost _too _overwhelming, but at school she barely batted an eye as she watched him being pushed into a locker, her eyes following Finn as he held Quinn's hand down the hallway.

That also came as a shock to Kurt. He hadn't realized – and really, how had he _not _realized – that Finn was the boyfriend Quinn was crying over in the bathroom the other day.

And, since that was the case, Kurt really didn't want Rachel to be anywhere near that boy. As crazy as the girl drove him sometimes, Kurt did love her and he only wanted what was best for her – which was obviously not some guy that made a nice, blonde cheerleader cry.

Or at least the side of Quinn he'd seen was nice. He knew she was head cheerleader, and therefore wasn't as nice as she had been to Kurt. But the fact that she had even stopped to _talk _to him made Kurt like her just a little bit more.

Which is why on Friday, a few weeks later, Kurt found himself lounging on the floor in Rachel's room, his eyebrows furrowed as the girl complained about Quinn.

"And I just don't _understand _why Finn likes her," she was saying. "I mean, yeah she's pretty and stuff, but _I'm _obviously more talented."

That had been going on for over an hour now, and Kurt was honestly about ready throttle Rachel's little head.

"He's obviously better off with me, and –"

"Rachel, seriously," Kurt scoffed, having had enough. "Finn's obviously not into you, and he's dating Quinn so there's _nothing you can do about it."_

"But if he would just realize that –"

"You can't _make _him realize anything," Kurt explained, his voice rising a little. "Just give it up, okay?"

Rachel huffed and sunk back into the couch a little. "I don't get why you're so cranky about this," she said. "I mean, you should _want _me to be happy."

And Kurt, before he knew what he was saying, was spewing the regretful words he'd been holding in all week out of his mouth. "Well maybe it's because you practically ignore me at school now."

Rachel's eyes widened, her face paling a little. "I didn't –"

"But you did," Kurt sighed and stood up, wiping a small piece dust off of his pants. "You saw me getting pushed into locker and didn't even bother asking me if I was alright. Hell, a few weeks ago I got a slushy bomb thrown at me and you know who comforted me?" Kurt paused, waiting, gauging Rachel's reaction. "Quinn Fabray."

Rachel opened her mouth to talk, but Kurt just shook his head. "I'm just going to go," he said. "I'll see you at school on Monday."

"But you were supposed to spend the night."

Kurt turned around, his eyes narrowing at how small her voice sounded. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm just having a rough time right now, and you weren't even there for me."

He didn't add how, if her brother had been around, he would have been there for Kurt within a millisecond. He really didn't think that would go down well.

"Kurt," she protested, a few tears in her eyes.

"Maybe you'll learn that sometimes keeping your friends is more important than other aspects of life," he said as he opened the front door. "Friends are what you keep with you. Nothing else really matters at this age."

Turning and walking out the door, Kurt closed it behind him, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, mentally scolding himself for deciding it was a good idea to walk the small distance home when it was practically _snowing _outside.

Just as he neared the end of the Anderson-Berry's driveway, a car pulled up next to him. He saw Hiram looking at him, a confused expression on his face.

"Where are you going?" He asked. "I thought you were having a sleepover with Rachel?"

"We had an – argument," Kurt explained slowly.

Hiram sighed and nodded, his hand shifting back to the steering wheel to pull into the driveway.

But then Kurt heard a voice from the backseat of the car.

"Wait," it said. "What did she do _this _time?"

Kurt froze.

Because that was _Blaine's _voice.

Kurt felt a smile break out on his face – something that hadn't happened in a while – as he peered into the backseat of the car. He saw out of his peripheral that Hiram was smirking a little, obviously thinking something that Kurt probably didn't want to know.

"Blaine," he said. "Why are you in the backseat again? You don't have Rachel as an excuse this time."

Before Kurt got an answer, he saw Blaine fumbling with his seat belt and flinging the door open, hoping out of the car. His face was bright red, his Dalton uniform wrinkled a little from the car ride. His hair was gelled – as was usual – and his hazel eyes were glowing.

Kurt gulped a little, unsure as to why he felt a small blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Come on," Blaine said, nodding his head towards the house as he loosened his tie.

"But I told Rachel –"

"You're now here to spend time with me," Blaine said, giving him a sideways grin. "Rachel can suck it up. Whatever she did to you, I'm sure she deserves not spending time with you."

Kurt smiled and laughed a little as he followed Blaine into the house.

"Kurt?" Rachel's voice sounded as she rounded the corner. "Oh, you came back, I was worried you were actually mad at –"

"He's here to spend time with me," Blaine interjected, Rachel seeming to have to do a double take.

"Oh," Rachel said dejectedly a moment later. "Kurt, I really am sorry –" She started.

Kurt sighed and nodded. "I know," he said slowly. "I just – I need some time, okay?"

Rachel nodded and trudged into the living room.

"Come on," Blaine said, leading him up the stairs towards his room.

And as Kurt walked up the stairs, it hit him that this was the first time he was seeing Blaine's room. The first time he was going to be in a _boy's _room. And a _gay boy,_ nonetheless.

As Blaine opened the door, Kurt glanced around, taking in plaid bedspread, the guitar in the corner of the room, the various books on the bookshelf, the set of sheet music on the nightstand.

It was so very, very Blaine.

Blaine sighed and plopped down onto his bed, rolling onto his back and shutting his eyes for a moment.

Kurt continued to stand in the doorway, not sure what he should do.

"It's good to be home," Blaine murmured after a moment. "I mean, I love Dalton, but sharing a tiny room with someone else just isn't the same as having your own room at your own house."

Kurt hummed in agreement.

Blaine opened his eyes and looked over at him, chuckling when he saw him still standing in the doorway. "Kurt, come on," he said, patting the bed next to him. "I haven't seen you in a month and you get all shy on me?"

"I'm not shy," he muttered.

Blaine laughed and rolled his eyes as Kurt made his way over to the bed to sit next to him.

"You never did explain why you were sitting in the back," Kurt prompted after a moment.

Blaine laughed, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks. "It's a…preference thing," he murmured. "I guess I just feel safer. I don't know."

Kurt laughed, nudging Blaine playfully in the side. "It's okay, you know," he said softly. "It's actually kind of precious if you think about it."

Blaine snorted. "Precious," he scoffed. "Just what I'm going for."

"Well you can't always be dapper," Kurt teased.

"Yes I can."

"No, you can't."

"Well I can try!"

Kurt laughed, rolling his head to the side so that it ended up resting on Blaine's shoulder. He didn't really realize it, and even if he had, he probably wouldn't have moved it.

"What did Rachel do this time?" Blaine murmured after a few moments of silence.

Kurt hummed in contentment, feeling his eyes drooping shut as the exhaustion that had built up in him during the week started to take over. "Not right now," Kurt murmured into Blaine's shoulder. "Later."

Blaine chuckled, shifting a little so that they were both half lying down on his bed. "Go to sleep, Kurt," he whispered into his ear.

"Mmkay," Kurt muttered before his eyelids drooped shut, the calming darkness completely taking over.

* * *

><p>When Kurt woke up, he could instantly tell it was morning by the light flowing through Blaine's blinds.<p>

Oh _shit. _He was still in Blaine's room.

In Blaine's _bed._

Kurt felt the grogginess wearing off of him as his eyes focused more, his body becoming more aware of his surroundings.

He felt something warm and heavy draped around his waist, and his right hand was tangled with something equally as warm.

Turning a little, he felt the brush of curly hair against his neck.

And then it hit him.

_Blaine was in the bed with him._

Blaine must have fallen asleep not long after Kurt, but how his arm ended up wrapped around Kurt and woven between his fingers, Kurt had _no _idea.

It was a good thing his dad thought he was still spending the night at Rachel's.

Kurt wanted to get up – he really had to pee – but he couldn't bring himself to move for fear of waking Blaine. His arm felt so warm and comforting on his torso, his face gently nuzzled into Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt sighed and relaxed, staring at Blaine's ceiling and just waiting for the younger boy to wake up.

How, he wondered, did just the mere presence of Blaine make him feel infinitely better about his life?

Blaine grumbled a few minutes later, his eyelids fluttering and his eyes squinting as they adjusted to the sudden brightness.

"Kurt?" He murmured, removing his arm that was around Kurt and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Kurt hummed in acknowledgement, smiling as Blaine's rumpled form quickly turned red once he realized their position.

"Oh," he said, abruptly sitting up. "I'm sorry! I didn't – You were –"

"Blaine," Kurt laughed. "It's fine."

Blaine gulped, his eyes wide and his face beat red. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Because that's definitely not something normally okay, and –"

"No," Kurt shook his head. "It was…nice. Comforting, I guess."

Blaine nodded, the blush continuing up his ears. "That was still crossing the line."

"I mean," Kurt muttered after a moment. "We're friends, right? Friends do those kind of things, don't they?"

"I don't know," Blaine muttered. "I mean, it wasn't on purpose. We just – fell asleep together."

"Yeah," Kurt nodded firmly. "That happens to friends all the time."

Blaine nodded and grinned at Kurt before hopping out of bed. "Come on," he said. "I smell pancakes."

Kurt laughed and followed him down the stairs, for once not caring about how his hair looked or that he might have morning breath.

As they came into the kitchen, Kurt noted that it was just Hiram and Leroy, meaning Rachel must still be sleeping.

"Hello, boys," Leroy said, smirking a little as they took a seat at the table. He exchanged a glance with Hiram, who smirked back in reply. "Have a good sleep?"

Kurt felt his cheeks tinting, his ears heating up as the blush crept up his face. He didn't even need to look over to see that Blaine was in the same state. "Umm, yeah," he muttered. He heard Hiram and Leroy exchange a small chuckle, watching as they both rolled their eyes a little.

"You guys are so oblivious," Leroy said as he gave his attention back to his pancakes. "It kind of reminds you of us, doesn't it?" He said to Hiram.

Hiram laughed and nodded. "We were worse," he said. "Because we were _adults _and still didn't realize."

Kurt was confused at this point. He turned to Blaine and raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged.

Leroy shook his head, obviously having watched their exchange. "It's okay, boys," he said, smiling fondly as he placed a plate of pancakes down in front of each of them. "You'll both figure it out eventually."

"I have no idea what they're talking about," Blaine whispered a moment later, his mouth full of pancakes.

"Me neither," Kurt responded. "They're _your _parents."

"Yeah, and they're insane."

Kurt snorted, taking a sip of his milk to cover the noise up.

But watching Hiram and Leroy cook breakfast while making small, playful banter with each other while they gave the other the most loving glances, Kurt couldn't help but hope that he was seeing a glimpse of his own future.

* * *

><p><strong>BABIES<strong>

**OBLIVIOUS, OBLIVIOUS BABIES**

**lksjflksaj **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.**

**Review? I don't like asking for reviews, but they are nice to receive.**

**And thank you all _so much _for the love you've given me and this fic. I think it's almost at 500 alerts, so...lkasjdflkjasd.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay. Yes. This chapter.**

**Didn't go how I planned. I originally planned to introduce an OC, but then Kurt and Rachel just had to make some plans on a Saturday and Blaine just had to tag along and then _everything _changed.**

**Just a warning the ending of this is...not so fluffly.**

**Well, I mean it _is, _it's just fluff riddled in with angst.**

**I used a High School Musical 3 song in this, because Blaine is a goober who listens to goober music.**

**And this chapter ends towards the middle of April, meaning Kurt's freshman year is drawing to a close :) Wheee!**

* * *

><p>Kurt hadn't seen Blaine since the sleepover. He'd talked to him a little over the phone, occasionally texting one another, Blaine sending him regular texts to make sure he was okay.<p>

But, truth be told, Kurt was kind of used to the bullying now. It was March, meaning he'd survived almost a whole school year.

That didn't mean he felt any better about it, but it wasn't reducing him to tears instantly like it once had. He didn't have to call Blaine at every time something went wrong. It helped that his dad knew he was being bullied and was more sympathetic to him, but he still felt somewhat accomplished about being able to handle the whole thing on his own.

By the time April rolled around, Kurt was starting to wonder when the next time Blaine would come home would be. He missed his friend, and the fact that he hadn't completely mended things with Rachel yet wasn't helping either.

They had talked it out, but she was still obsession over Finn. And as long as that was going on, Kurt knew she wasn't going to be much of a friend. Yes, he still ate lunch with her and hung out with her outside of school, but all she talked about was _Finn _and how Quinn didn't deserve him and whatever else it was she ranted about.

All Kurt really wanted to know was where Blaine was and why Blaine hadn't been home for months and how come he barely ever called Kurt anymore.

"Rachel," Kurt sighed one day, interrupting the girl mid rant.

"Yes?" She asked, sitting up from where her head had been hanging off of the couch.

"Why hasn't Blaine been home?"

Kurt cringed at how soft his voice sounded, and how tentative and cautious it came out.

"He's busy trying to get a solo for the Warblers," Rachel told him, giving him a sympathetic smile before getting up to sit beside him. "He misses you, though."

Kurt sniffled a little, and _really, Kurt, why are you crying over something like this?_

"Kurt," Rachel cooed, throwing her arm over his shoulder and pulling his head to her own, her motherly instincts kicking in again. "It's okay. He'll come home soon."

"I just miss him," Kurt whispered, his voice cracking a little. "He's my best friend and I haven't seen him in forever."

"I know," she said softly. "You guys kind of need each other to function."

Kurt snorted but nodded, because he knew it was true. "Why hasn't he been talking to me, though?" He asked. "I mean, I guess I'm not really initiating conversation either, but…"

Rachel sighed and reclined on the couch a little. "I don't know," she said, he voice quiet. "You should just call him though."

* * *

><p>Kurt was going to call Blaine that night. He really was. But by the time he got home it was already ten at night and he was dead beat from the long week of school, simply tossing his phone on his nightstand and going to sleep.<p>

He awoke the next morning, his waist uncomfortable from where his belt had dug into his skin all night.

That was the last time Kurt slept in his clothes.

Groaning, he sat up and felt around for his phone, slowly unlocking it and looking at it with blurry eyes.

_1 New Message_

Kurt felt his heart flutter, knowing that it was from Blaine somehow. He didn't think twice about _why _his heart was fluttering, simply opening the message and smiling.

_Rachel talked to me last night and I feel like a terrible friend I've just been really busy and I'm sorry if you think I've been ignoring you._

Kurt smiled and sent him a quick reply, telling him that it was okay and that he didn't contact him either and that they'd catch up as soon as he took a shower.

_I'm coming home next weekend, so…_

That was Blaine's response to Kurt's long message, those 6 simple words being enough to cause a grin to split across Kurt's face.

Setting his phone down and hopping into the shower, he quickly cleaned himself and got dressed, pocketing his phone and shoving a few dollar bills into his pocket.

"Dad," he called. "I'm walking to the Lima Bean. Do you want anything?"

He heard his father's murmured 'no' in response. Kurt grabbed his coat and shrugged it on, carefully buttoning it up before wrapping his scarf around his neck.

The weather was warming up, but it was still cold for it being the beginning of April. There was no longer snow on the ground, but the air was still chilly enough for it to bite uncomfortably at Kurt's ears.

Luckily, the trek to the Lima Bean was only about ten minutes long. Sighing as he came into the comfort of the warm shop, the smell of coffee wafting around him, he made his way to the small line, fishing out his money from his pocket.

He ordered his coffee and went to sit in a window seat, noting that it was the only available table left.

So he should have expected that someone would ask to sit at his table.

But then again, people tended to avoid him like a plague.

That's why it surprised him when there was a tap on his shoulder.

Kurt didn't turn around, simply humming in acknowledgement as he stared at the window.

"Can I sit here?" The voice said, and if Kurt was hearing correctly, the voice sounded _familiar._

"Mhmm," Kurt murmured, taking a swig of his coffee and not so much as glancing at the person as they sat down across the table from him.

"You seem lost in thought," the voice went on.

Kurt really couldn't place the voice, and, curiosity getting the best of him, he glanced over at the person and almost dropped his coffee.

It was _Blaine._

_Blaine _Blaine.

_His _Blaine.

Kurt blushed as the last thought coursed through his head, because really, Blaine was far from _his. _He was just his friend – Kurt had no claim to him.

But that didn't stop him from feeling guilty about not recognizing his voice.

"Oh my god," he murmured after a moment. "How come I didn't recognize your voice?"

Blaine laughed and shrugged, his eyes twinkling as he took a sip of his coffee. "I guess that's what happens when you don't talk for a few months," he answered.

Kurt looked him over, taking in his appearance. The few months had done Blaine well. His shoulders were broader than before – although it looked like he hadn't grown. His cheeks had thinned out, no longer the pudgy baby cheeks they'd been when they first met. His hair was even more gelled down than before – if that was even possible - and he just looked _older._

Kurt coughed awkwardly into his napkin, taking a small sip of his mocha. "I'm sorry I never called you or anything," Kurt murmured after a moment.

Blaine shrugged. "It's my fault too," he said. "Luckily Dalton lost power today, so everyone within the vicinity was sent home for the weekend."

"It's only Thursday," Kurt retorted, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Which means I'm here until Sunday evening."

Kurt grinned, knowing that the corners of his eyes were crinkling.

They caught up then, Kurt telling Blaine about everything he'd missed and Rachel's Finn related shenanigans, Blaine talking about the Warblers and how he was _that _close to getting a solo.

Kurt hadn't heard Blaine sing yet, but if he was anything like Rachel, he'd have on in no time.

The New Directions, on the other hand, were simply struggling with finding enough members. Rachel had somehow gotten Finn Hudson to join, which then resulted in Quinn, Brittany, and Santana joining and a few other football players, but they still were a few short.

"Well you still have the beginning of next year to find some, too," Blaine said. "You should be fine."

Kurt nodded, hoping that they could convince some more people to join somehow.

In the middle of them making plans to hang out Saturday evening, Kurt remembered something.

It was the second weekend in April. Meaning that the spring dance for the underclassmen was Saturday. And Kurt had promised he'd go with Rachel.

"Blaine," Kurt interrupted him. "I promised Rachel I'd go to a dance with her on Saturday."

Blaine perked up, his eyes widening with what Kurt could only assume was excitement. "Can I come?" Blaine asked, his face lighting up. "Please? I can hang out with you and Rachel and meet your Glee Club friends."

"Do you really want to?" Kurt asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. "I don't even want to go."

"Come _on,"_ Blaine begged. "Live a little, Kurt! We can go have fun together!"

Kurt tried very, very hard not to think that it would be as close to a date for the dance as he would get.

"If you're sure," Kurt sighed. "I can't guarantee we'll have any fun though."

"Oh we'll have plenty of fun," Blaine replied. "How could we _not _have fun when we're together, making fun of Rachel and her lame attempts to woo Finn?"

Kurt snorted and rolled his eyes, knowing that Blaine did have point.

"Fine," he sighed. "Just don't wear your Dalton uniform."

"But I love my uniform," Blaine pouted, jutting his lower lip out. "It makes me look refined."

"Wear a tux," Kurt supplied. "You'll look even more refined then."

* * *

><p>Kurt waited in his dad's car outside of the gym on Saturday for Rachel to pull up, not wanting go in by himself.<p>

"If you feel uncomfortable at all, call me," his dad kept saying. "If anyone gives you any problems –"

"Call you, I know," Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes fondly. "I'll be fine."

"Take care of Blaine," he said, noting that the Anderson-Berry's van had pulled into the parking space next to them.

"I've got it, Dad," Kurt said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Pick me up at ten."

"Will do."

Kurt waved as he drove away, walking over to where Rachel and Blaine were piling out of the car. Rachel was dressed in a frilly pink dress, her hair done up in soft, long curls. She smiled at him, adjusting his tie a little before leading the way into the school.

Kurt fell into step beside Blaine, really looking at his outfit for the first time. He was wearing a simple black suit with a red tie – Kurt thinking that it was his way of _somewhat _resembling his Dalton uniform.

But his hair…

It wasn't plastered to his head, but it wasn't crazy and free either. It was gelled just the right amount, enough to control his curls but still let them be free to some extent.

"You look…" Kurt trailed off, searching for the word. "Nice." He cringed, because he really couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

Blaine cleared his throat, a blush tinting on his cheeks. He turned his head slightly, and Kurt's brain paused for a moment. Where had he been looking before? Was he checking out his –

Kurt shook his head slightly, clearing all of those thoughts out of his mind.

"So do you," Blaine said after a moment, clearing his throat again. "That jacket – uh – it looks nice on you."

Kurt blushed and ducked his head, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Come _on,"_ Rachel called from the entrance. "Stop flirting and hurry up!"

Kurt sighed and walked a little faster, not wanting to make the girl too irritated. They handed their tickets over to the collector, Kurt glancing behind him to make sure Blaine was still following.

As they entered the gym, Kurt instantly regretted coming. The room was too dark and the music was too loud and it was just something that Kurt wouldn't _enjoy._

"Come on!" Blaine yelled over the music, tugging Kurt and Rachel by the elbow and over to a table. "We can put our stuff here!"

Kurt sighed and relented, knowing that there was no getting out of this now. Blaine looked absolutely _thrilled, _the excitement practically radiating off of his body.

"Do you want something to drink?" Blaine yelled at them, bouncing on his heels.

Rachel nodded, and Blaine grinned at her before setting off towards the table full of probably spiked punch and water.

Kurt glanced around him, noting that most of the freshman and sophomore student body was in attendance.

But then his eyes caught sight of a group towards the opposite corner of the gym, his heart practically stopping as he began to panic.

It was Karofsky and his group of friends – but there were more. They were bigger, obviously having to be from a different school since Kurt had never seen them before.

"Rachel," Kurt hissed, gesturing with his head towards the group.

Rachel paled, her eyes widening. "Just – Just stay away from them," she stammered. "Don't do anything to like, draw their attention or anything."

"So making out with Blaine isn't an option, then?"

He'd meant it like a joke, but it didn't come out jokingly. It sounded almost…disappointed?

Rachel scrunched her eyebrows at him for a moment before seeming to realize that he was kidding. "Just be careful," she hissed, spotting Finn across the dance floor. "Oh," she chirped, smiling. "Quinn must be in the bathroom. Now's my opportunity…" She trailed off, glancing guiltily at Kurt.

"Go," Kurt laughed. "Enjoy it while you can."

Rachel ran off, leaving Kurt standing by the table by himself. He glanced over at Karofsky and his friends, hoping that they didn't even know that he was there.

Luckily Blaine returned at that moment, setting the drinks down on the table and glancing around.

"Karofsky's here," Kurt whispered in his ear. "And he brought friends that don't go here."

He could see Blaine stiffen beside him, his eyes widening a little.

"Do you want to go?" Blaine asked, turning to him with worried eyes.

"No," Kurt responded. "I'm fine."

"Let me know if you want to leave," Blaine said. "We'll call your dad."

Kurt nodded and watched as everyone danced around them, the song changing to a slow one a few moments later.

"Oh my god," Blaine turned to Kurt with wide eyes, a grin on his face. "This is _High School Musical."_

Kurt laughed, rolling his eyes at Blaine's excitement. "You are _such _a child," he said in between laughs.

Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand, tugging it gently. "Dance with me, Kurt," he pleaded. "Please? This is my favorite song."

"Blaine," Kurt struggled to get free. "Karofsky…everyone else…"

"They won't notice," Blaine practically begged. "_Please, _Kurt."

Kurt sighed but relented, letting Blaine tug him out onto the dance floor, slightly away from everyone else.

"Erm," Kurt said, his arms at his side awkwardly. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

"Here," Blaine said as he lifted Kurt's arms and placed them over his shoulders, his own wrapping gently around his waist. "Like that, I think."

Kurt could feel himself blushing at their proximity. Besides that one sleepover, this was the closest he had ever been to Blaine.

_Take my hand  
>Take a breath<br>Pull me close  
>And take one step<br>Keep your eyes  
>Locked on mine and let the music be your guide<em>

Blaine started to sing along, his eyes glowing as he twirled Kurt in beat with the music. Kurt let out a peel of laughter, his eyes catching Blaine's hazel ones and never leaving.

_It's like catching lightning  
>The chances of finding someone like you<br>It's one in a million  
>The chances of feeling the way we do<em>

Kurt felt Blaine's grip on his waist tighten a little as he pulled him closer, Kurt leaning in to rest his head on Blaine's shoulder as Blaine continued to sing in his ear softly.

_And with every step together  
>We just keep on getting better<br>So can I have this dance? (Can i have this dance?)  
>Can I have this dance?<em>

The song drifted to a close, Kurt assuming that they didn't want to play a whole _High School Musical _song for fear of sparking a rebellion.

He pulled away from Blaine, instantly missing his warm body pressed against his own. He felt cold now, like he was missing something.

Their eyes stayed locked for a moment, Kurt looking away when the gaze became too intense.

"I – I need some air," Kurt murmured before quickly walking outside, going out the back doors of the gym.

Nobody was out there. He took a deep breath, inhaling the clean air and just watching the night sky go by.

"Well, you're the resident fairy I've heard so much about."

Kurt froze, his whole body tensing as he heard the voice. It wasn't one he recognized, but it contained the same, chilling tone that Karofsky's did whenever he jeered at him.

Kurt slowly turned around, his heart thumping in his chest. Three guys were standing behind him, wicked grins on their unrecognizable faces.

"We're going to teach you a lesson," one of them hissed. "Show you why you shouldn't dance with your boyfriend at our dances."

Kurt gulped and closed his eyes. He could run, but he would only get so far before he wouldn't be able to see anything in the dark.

They got closer and closer, Kurt practically already feeling their fists in his stomach, his nose spurting with blood as one collided with it.

But nothing had happened yet. He just wanted them to get it over with, wanted it to be done and over.

"Get away from him," a low voice growled from somewhere to his right. Kurt cracked his eye open to see Blaine standing there, his face furious and his fists clenched to his side, but Kurt could see he was shaking.

And then he remembered what Blaine had told him during one of their first conversations.

"_I got beat up in sixth grade," Blaine whispered. "Me and Rachel went to a different public school and – and some jerks came and beat the crap out of me. It was pretty much the same week when I realized that I was gay for sure and – and it wasn't so much the physical but –"_

He could tell Blaine was thinking back to that.

"Blaine, no!" He cried. But the boys advanced on Blaine then, their smiles even wider and larger than they were before.

"Blaine!" Kurt cried again, trying to move his feet, Blaine's firm gaze on him keeping him in place.

_Run, _he mouthed to Kurt as one of the bully's stepped impossibly close to him. Kurt knew Blaine looked like an easier target to them – after all, he was standing there shaking. But that didn't mean he had to take the punch for Kurt.

_Go, _Blaine mouthed again, his eyes blazing with intensity.

But Kurt didn't move. He whimpered a little as the smallest of the three threw a punch into Blaine's gut, causing a huff of air to come out of him as he clutched his stomach. They proceeded to punch and kick at Blaine until the boy had collapsed onto the ground, curled in on his side and whimpering.

Kurt then took things into his own hands, his feet _finally _unfreezing from where he was standing and running over to them.

"Help!" He cried as he tried to shove the bullies off of Blaine. "Someone help me!"

The three boys, knowing that they could be caught at any minute, took off, laughing and jeering at Blaine and Kurt as they ran off into the night.

"Oh god," Kurt said as he knelt down besides Blaine, who was still curled in on his side and moaning in pain. "Blaine, you _idiot."_

"Couldn't see you get hurt again," Blaine gasped, wincing at the pain.

Kurt fished out his phone, and called his dad, leaving him an urgent message quickly explaining the situation when it went to voicemail.

"I'm going to get someone," Kurt whispered after a moment of just staring at Blaine, not sure what he should do. "Just – stay there."

"Can't really go anywhere," Blaine grunted, closing his eyes and groaning again.

The first person he saw was Quinn, who was sitting at one of the tables.

"Quinn," he said, knowing that his face was tearstained and that he was a wreck.

"Kurt," she stood up, her eyes concerned as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"It's Blaine," Kurt rushed out, trying to convey how urgent the situation was to her. "He – those guys Karofsky brought with him – they –"

Quinn nodded, ushering for Kurt to take her to Blaine.

She knelt down beside Blaine instantly, Kurt noting how hard it was for her not to cringe at the sight. "Did you call someone?" She asked Kurt, sitting down next to Blaine and trying to calm him down.

"My dad's coming," Kurt said as he checked his phone. "He just left me a message saying he'd be here in a few minutes."

Kurt knelt down on the other side of Blaine, gripping his hand in his own and shushing him.

"Shh, Blaine," Quinn cooed beside him. "You're fine."

"This has happened before," Kurt whispered to her.

"Oh."

Burt pulled up then, instantly running out of the car to where Kurt was knelt beside Blaine. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking at Kurt.

Kurt nodded but looked over at Blaine, his eyes worried and panicked.

"I'm going to kill them," Burt murmured.

"They don't even go here, sir," Quinn supplied. "They can't get expelled or anything."

Burt huffed but nodded. "I called his parents, and they're going to meet us at the nearest ER."

"ER?" Blaine muttered, his eyes wide, the tears starting to well in them.

"Yeah, bud," Burt said, squatting down next to him and rubbing his shoulder soothingly. "It's gonna be okay. They're just gonna check you out, make sure your ribs aren't broken."

"A few are broken," Blaine supplied.

"How do you know?" Burt asked, furrowing his eyebrows at the crumpled boy on the ground.

"Because I've been beaten before," Blaine whispered. "I've had broken ribs before."

Kurt saw his dad swallow the lump in his throat, quickly turning to Quinn. "Can you go find Rachel?" He asked her. She nodded and ran off.

Burt knelt down beside Blaine again, rolling him over onto his back. "I'm gonna pick you up and get you into the car, okay?" Burt asked. Blaine nodded, whimpering a little as Kurt watched his dad place his arm under his knees and effortless lift him up.

He gently placed Blaine in the backseat, backing away from the door. "You should sit back there with him," he whispered to Kurt gently. "He's pretty shaken up."

Kurt nodded and slid in beside Blaine, the boy instantly placing his head in Kurt's lap.

Kurt wanted to cry. Blaine – his Blaine, his strong, comforting Blaine – was so _broken._

"Shh," Kurt said, running his fingers gently through Blaine's hair. "Shh, you're okay."

Rachel hopped in the front seat then, her eyes frantic as she looked back at Blaine. "Shit," she swore. "Not again."

Blaine whimpered again and burrowed his head further into Kurt's lap.

"Rachel, shush," Kurt hissed at her. "Be comforting!"

Rachel grumbled a little before falling silent, Burt starting the trek to the nearest hospital.

"It's okay, Blaine," Kurt whispered, "You're going to be fine."

* * *

><p>Kurt never knew waiting was this excruciating.<p>

He must have sat in the ER with his dad, Rachel, and the Anderson-Berry's for hours, just waiting for the doctors to say they could see Blaine and that he was okay.

He gave up pacing a while ago, his legs becoming too tired to do anything except just sit there impatiently.

And then finally (finally!) the doctor came out into the waiting room, clipboard in hand.

"How is he?" Hiram stood up, Leroy following quickly behind him.

"He has three broken ribs," the doctor said, "Some small internal bleeding, and a slight concussion."

The men let out a sigh of relief, Kurt assuming that it wasn't as bad as last time.

"But…" The doctor trailed off for a moment before resuming. "He's not…handling it very well."

"Well of course he's not!" Leroy all but yelled, his voice reverberating off of the quiet waiting room. "The poor boy was _held back _a year last time he was beaten up."

The doctor sighed but nodded. "He can have visitors now," he said. "Only for an hour, though. He needs his rest."

They all nodded, even Rachel from where her head was rested on Kurt's shoulder, her eyelids drooping.

"Oh, and he keeps asking for someone named Kurt," the doctor, turning around before walking into another room.

They all nodded again, the doctor giving them a small wave before departing.

"You go first, Kurt," Leroy said gesturing towards the hallway where Blaine's room was located. "If he wants you, he's not going to accept anyone else until he talks to you."

Kurt nodded and slowly stood up, his legs shaking a little under him. He knew he looked ridiculous, wearing his suit in a hospital, but he couldn't care less. It was _his _fault Blaine was in the hospital.

He stood outside the room for a moment, just staring at the name outside the door.

_Blaine Anderson._

Willing himself to not cry yet, he slowly opened the door.

Blaine was sitting up on the bed, a big bowl of ice cream on his lap.

He looked…well, like Blaine.

He caught Kurt's eye and smiled, though it didn't fully reach his eyes. He patted the bed next to him and scooted over, making room for Kurt. Kurt slowly walked over and leant back against the headboard, careful not to jostle Blaine too much.

"How are you?" Kurt asked, cringing because Blaine obviously wasn't okay.

"Better than I was last time."

Kurt sighed, lowering his head and staring at his hands in his lap. "You should have done that for me," he murmured a moment later.

"I wanted to," Blaine replied, reaching out and squeezing Kurt's hand gently. "I wasn't about to stand there and let my best friend, who's been tormented for weeks get beat up."

"But that's basically what I did to you," Kurt whispered. "I – I just stood there, and –"

"But you didn't," Blaine interrupted him. "Right when I hit the ground, you were over there smacking them and yelling for help. If you hadn't done that they – they could have done a lot more damage."

Kurt took a shaky breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Thank you, then," he whispered, his eyes still closed. "Since you won't let me take the blame…"

Blaine sighed and shifted his head so that he was looking directly at Kurt. "I don't regret it," he murmured. "I didn't want to have to deal with what I went through. I – It already happened to me once, so it wasn't as traumatic for me as it would have been for you."

"You were shaking," Kurt whispered. "Blaine, you were –"

"I was scared, yes," Blaine said. "But so were you, and you weren't even the one with the injuries."

Blaine had a point, and Kurt knew it.

"Thank you," Kurt said again, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to Blaine's cheek. He froze as he did so, his eyes widening and a blush forming on his cheeks. "Umm…"

Blaine laughed and rolled his eyes, leaning up and pressing his own kiss to Kurt's cheek. "There," he murmured, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder. "Now we're even."

* * *

><p><strong>Cute little ending there to make up for the traumatic experience that is the rest of the chapter.<strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, and Can I Have this Dance is High School Musical stuff that i don't want to own**

**Review? The love his story is getting is simply _blowing my mind. _Like seriously...it's just a bunch of fluff and obliviousness. Which apparently people enjoy.**


	10. Chapter 10

**This is kind of just a filler chapter. It takes our sweet, darling boys all the way to the end of May :)**

**And I apologize for the emotional trainwreck you all experienced with the last chapter :p (Except not really)**

* * *

><p>The weeks after Blaine was released from the hospital were quite possibly the slowest of Kurt's life. Blaine was on bed rest for a week, not being allowed to return to Dalton until his health was approved by the doctor. So Kurt would go to school, be completely distracted all day, and then go home with Rachel and whichever one of her dads it was that picked her up. He'd sit with Blaine they'd do their homework in silence.<p>

That was the thing that scared Kurt.

Before, whenever they'd been hanging out together, there was barely ever silence. They were always talking about _something. _

But ever since Blaine came out of the hospital, they'd barely had a conversation.

Kurt wondered if it was because Blaine could sense that he still felt guilty. Kurt _knew _that, no matter what Blaine was to say, he would instantly pipe in that he was sorry and that it should have happened to him instead of Blaine and that it just wasn't _fair._

And, now that Kurt actually thought about it, that was most likely the case. Blaine had told him countless times not to feel bad about the whole thing, but Kurt couldn't help it.

Blaine finally went back to school the first week of May. Kurt was over there the Sunday before, helping Blaine pack his things. But he'd had enough of the silence.

"Why aren't you talking to me?" Kurt asked as he folded an undershirt of Blaine's and gently put it into his bag. "Because I know that you still talk to everyone else."

Blaine glanced up at him and just looked at his face for a moment before sighing. He waved Kurt over to where he was walking towards his bed, sitting down on the end of it and patting the space next to him.

Kurt got up and plopped down next to Blaine, giving him an expectant look.

"It's not your fault," he murmured after a moment. "And it really has nothing to do with what happened."

Kurt's eyebrows furrowed. If it didn't have to do with the accident, then what was it about?

"What's wrong?" Kurt whispered. "Did something else happen?"

Blaine took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at Kurt. "When I was still in the hospital," he started, "My dads were talking about maybe we needed to get away for a while."

Kurt could feel the panic start to settle in. That could mean so many different things – Blaine could be moving, going to school out of state, out of the _country, _they could be –

"And before your almost insane mind comes up with ridiculous ideas, no I'm not being sent to a different school or anything," Blaine interrupted Kurt's thinking. "But we're going on vacation."

Kurt let out a sigh of relief. "Well that's not a bad thing," Kurt replied, smiling a little.

"No," Blaine shook his head. "But we're going for the whole summer."

Kurt felt a lump forming in his throat as he absorbed Blaine's words. "Oh," he said, because that was really all he could think of at the moment. "Where – Where are you going?"

"Europe," Blaine whispered.

And then it hit Kurt _so _much harder. Blaine was going _out of the country. _For the _whole_ summer.

Kurt was going to be stuck here. In Ohio. Alone.

Rachel and Blaine – with the exception of Quinn and the somewhat friendship he had with the New Directions – were Kurt's only friends. And since they'd both be gone…

It would basically be like it had been for the rest of Kurt's life. The past school year had – besides the increase in bullying – been _amazing _in Kurt's book. He had friends, he did things that teenagers did, he had sleepovers and went to the mall and just hung out.

But Rachel and Blaine were going miles and miles away from him, a whole ocean separating them. He wouldn't be able to call Blaine if something went wrong. He wouldn't be able to run into Rachel's arms whenever he was upset.

He would really, truly be by himself.

"So I wasn't really talking to you because I knew that I needed to tell you," Blaine went on. "I guess you could say I was putting off the inevitable."

Kurt sighed but nodded, biting his bottom lip as he stared at his feet.

"I don't want to leave you here without anyone," Blaine whispered after a moment. "But it's what my dads want."

"I know," Kurt replied, his voice cracking a little. "But – I just don't want you to go. But I don't want you to not go because of me."

Blaine looked at Kurt for a moment before scooting over and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "I'll be here for the first three weeks of summer," Blaine whispered in his ear, and _no, Kurt, his breath on your ear isn't making you shiver. _"We can hang out constantly then."

"We better," Kurt chuckled. "I'm holding you to that promise."

"And I can give you my address of where we'll be staying," Blaine said, smiling as if the idea had just come to him. "And then we can write all the time."

Kurt laughed and shook his head at how excited Blaine looked. He could still feel the light pressure of Blaine's arm on his shoulder, the way his fingers were unconsciously playing with the loose fabric on shirt.

"You get excited over the smallest of things," Kurt chuckled.

"Sometimes the small things in life are better," Blaine said with a shrug. "It's just a matter of knowing what they are and when to appreciate them."

* * *

><p>Before Kurt knew what was happening, it was the middle of May. The Glee Club was working on recruiting new members for next year, and – while that had been unsuccessful, Rachel had a very adamant plan that she was sure would work.<p>

"Maybe I could bring some European singers home," she said at lunch one day. "And then we'd have enough."

"You can't just _bring_ people home," Kurt replied. "They're not souvenirs."

"That's what you think," Rachel said, pointing her fork at Kurt. "You obviously haven't truly met me, then."

Kurt laughed, trying to keep his milk from spewing out of his nose. "I _have _met you," he replied. "And that's even _more _of a reason why I know for a fact random foreigners won't come to America to be in our tiny, tiny Glee Club."

Rachel huffed, Kurt knowing that he'd won that one.

"What are you going to do once we leave?" Rachel asked. "Without me and Blaine."

Kurt shrugged. He'd been trying not to think about it, really. "I don't know," he said. "Quinn said we could go shopping, and Mercedes said we could hang out every now and then."

Rachel nodded as she took another stab of her salad, forking it into her mouth.

"But…it won't be the same," he admitted. "I'm not as close as I am with you and Blaine."

"You're not as close with _anyone _as you are with Blaine," Rachel added, pausing for a moment before smirking at Kurt. "I mean, I can't say that you've _cuddled _with many other people while sleeping."

Kurt felt his cheeks tinting as he ducked his head. "Who told you that?" He muttered.

"My dads," Rachel smirked. "They thought it was hilarious how red you guys turned whenever they brought it up. Obviously they were right."

"I hate you guys," Kurt said, sending her a mock-glare. "All of you."

"Even Blaine?" Rachel teased, waggling her eyebrows at him.

"Would you _stop _doing that?" Kurt asked, gesturing at her eyebrows.

"I'm just saying," Rachel said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. "I think you like him."

Kurt's eyes widened at her as he felt his neck starting to heat up. "No," he said firmly. "We're just friends."

"For _now," _Rachel replied. "I mean, think about it. You guys are still young and can't really tell those things yet," she said. "And you obviously have some kind of connection…"

"What are you even trying to say?" Kurt asked, his forehead scrunching in confusion. "That me and Blaine are eventually going to get together?"

Rachel shrugged, a small smile toying at her lips. "It could happen," she smirked. "It is a possibility. Never say never."

Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You just want me as a brother-in-law," he said.

Rachel laughed and gave her attention back to her lunch, sending a small smirk his way every now and then.

* * *

><p>Ever since the incident at the dance, Karofsky had been harassing Kurt a lot less. He assumed it was because Figgens had gotten on his case about his friends, meaning that a close eye was being kept on him.<p>

He couldn't have expected that to last long, though.

It was almost the end of May before Kurt had another run in with Karofsky. He thought that maybe, since they only had about two weeks of school left, that he was in the clear for the rest of the year.

He wasn't.

The locker shoves started up again, the dumpster tosses shortly after. He seemed to have his friends doing the slushy facials – since those were what would get them in trouble of they were caught.

So much for being in the clear.

And this time, it was so much worse. Along with the usual slurs, there were new ones – ones about how he should exist, ones about how _Blaine _shouldn't exist. He hated that they knew about Blaine now, that they knew who he was and, because of that, they could make fun of him to Kurt.

Honestly, Kurt couldn't decide what hurt him more – when they would hiss about Blaine or sneer slurs at him to his face. After what Karofsky's out of school friends had done to Blaine, Blaine didn't _deserve _to be talked about like this, even if it wasn't directly at him. He knew they were doing it to Kurt to get a rise out of him, but that didn't make it any better.

He hadn't told Blaine about it, either. The boy didn't need any more of that in his life at the moment. He was safe and happy at Dalton, and that's how it was going to stay. He was _just _recovering from the attack, and this would only make it worse.

Dalton got out of school for the summer a week before McKinley did. And Kurt just hoped that Blaine wouldn't come around here during those five days. He wanted Blaine to stay as far away from this school as he could. He just hoped Blaine wouldn't make any surprise visits.

He told Rachel, too. She agreed with him, but she also knew that it was very likely Blaine would make an appearance to surprise them.

So he took it into his own hands and called Blaine.

"Hello?" Blaine said as he answered the phone. He heard a bunch of boys chattering in the background, laughing and talking loudly.

"Hi," Kurt replied.

He could hear Blaine telling someone that he had to go, the background noise quieting.

"What's up?" Blaine asked.

"I need you to do something for me," Kurt said slowly. "It might sound kind of weird, but…"

"Of course," Blaine replied instantly. "You don't need to ask me twice."

"Okay," Kurt took a deep breath. "Once you're out of school for the summer, and McKinley isn't…" He trailed off for a moment, figuring out exactly how to put this. "I – You shouldn't come visit me or Rachel here."

Blaine was silent for a few moments, Kurt practically sensing he didn't really understand. "Um…Why?" Blaine asked.

"Because I don't want you getting hurt again," Kurt whispered, hoping that Blaine could hear him through the receiver. "They – Karofsky and his friends that go to school here – they're going to remember you. And they'll mainly remember that you're an easy target."

Blaine was silent again. Kurt could _hear _him thinking, and if he were with him, he would be able to _see _the gears turning in his head.

"Can I at least come for a Glee rehearsal?" Blaine asked. "That's just at the end of the day, right?"

Kurt paused, thinking about that. It was safer than any other time of day – most of the jocks had P.E. that hour on the opposite side of the school – and if they were quick enough, they could be out of there before any of them were even out of the locker room.

"Okay," Kurt finally said. "But we'd have to leave quickly."

"Of course," Blaine replied.

They both fell silent for a minute, Kurt just listening to Blaine's soft breaths coming through his phone.

"Kurt?" Blaine said after a few minutes. His voice was soft and tender, and he just sounded _young._

"Mhmm?" Kurt replied.

"Thank you for looking out for me," Blaine whispered. "It – It really means a lot."

"I care about you, Blaine," Kurt replied. "I just don't want anything else to happen to you."

He heard Blaine sigh, Kurt imagining him attempting to run his hand through his gellified hair. "I wish I could protect you like that," he said, his voice strained. "But…"

"No," Kurt stopped him. "Blaine…you do enough as it is. Without you…I don't even know where I would be."

"Just be careful," Blaine said. "When I'm gone…be careful, okay?"

"I always am," Kurt replied, laughing a little.

"I'm not joking though, Kurt," Blaine said. "I'm not going to be there if something happens. Rachel's not going to be there…"

Kurt knew this already. How could he _not _know that he was going to be here without anyone?

"We won't be in school," Kurt whispered. "I'll hardly ever see them."

Blaine sighed again. "I just worry," he said. "I worry about you over there so much that sometimes I wonder if it's borderline insane."

Kurt laughed then. "Well I don't think it's insane," Kurt replied. "When you were in the hospital, I thought I was going to die from anxiety practically every day."

Their conversation slowly trickled away after that, Blaine telling Kurt that he was coming home that weekend so he could grab some suitcases for his things.

"I wish I could help you pack," Kurt said with a laugh. "Your packing skills are limited."

Blaine laughed loudly. "Hey!" He protested.

"Just being truthful," Kurt replied.

Blaine sighed, Kurt picturing him shaking his head. "God," he breathed. "That what I love about you."

Kurt froze at Blaine's words, his eyes widening. What had Blaine just said?

"Umm," Blaine stuttered. "That came out wrong."

Oh.

"Well, I mean I do love you," Blaine stammered. "Like a friend. Like, friendly love. You know what I mean?"

Kurt nodded, even though Blaine couldn't see him. "Yeah," he replied softly. He wasn't sure if he should say something else, or what he should say or how he should respond.

But then he thought about how Blaine had helped him, how Blaine had freaking been _beaten up _for him.

"I love you, too," he said, and _no, Kurt, why did you say it like that?_ "Not in that way. Well, maybe in that way, depending on what way you're looking at it. Like the friendly way. Friend love. Like Philos. Love between two friends and all that."

"Kurt, I got it," Blaine laughed. "Thanks for that vocabulary lesson, though."

They chatted for a few minutes after that, Kurt hanging up his phone and holding it to his chest.

Why did he feel…giddy? All he'd done was say that he loved Blaine as a friend. It was no big deal, right?

But why did it feel like so, _so _much more?

Maybe it had to do with the fact that Blaine was leaving in about a month's time for the whole summer, and that he wouldn't get to see him for weeks upon weeks.

He wasn't going to think about that now, though. They still had three weeks in the summer to spend together, and that's what Kurt was going to look forward to.

* * *

><p><strong>Teehee :p<strong>

**And Blaine leaving for the summer is _extremely _necessary for what I have planned for the beginning of Kurt's sophomore year.**

**So next chapter is going to be Kurt's last week of school, and then the chapter after is going to be the three weeks of summer with Blaine, and then one chapter of Kurt's summer without Blaine. And then we'll start Kurt's sophomore year :)**

**And I originally planned for Kurt's freshman year to be only five or so chapters...but here we are. Chapter ten.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.**

**The support this fic keeps getting absolutely _astounds _me. I adore writing it, so hearing back from you guys just makes me want to alskfjlksj all over the place :)**


	11. Chapter 11

***peeks out from behind door***

**um...hello. **

**Yes you read the alert correctly. I'M AM UPDATING. I am so so so sorry for the months and months of wait. Some stuff went down and i went on 2 haituses and completely cut myself off from fandom for awhile, and then when I came back i had to get my writing mojo back by writing drabbles and stuff. But i'm heRE now and updating and yayy**

**The song used in this is Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. It's a beautiful song, _beautiful, _and I suggest you listen to it during the part where Blaine sings it. Although I skipped some versus because i can.**

**And it's shorter than previous chapters have been, but I figure it's just kind of a filler chapter anyways.**

**And there's some Burt POV at the end. Yayy Burt.**

* * *

><p>Kurt stood in the doorway of the choir room, smiling.<p>

It was the last day of his freshman year.

In a few months, he'd be walking back into this same room older, wiser. He'd no longer be _as _low on the food chain. He wouldn't worry about making friends – because he would aready have them.

Kurt made his way over to where the still extremely small Glee club was congregated in the center of the room. Maybe next year they'd gain more members and be able to compete.

One could hope.

"Kurt!" Mercedes cried as she launched at him. "It's our last day!"

Kurt laughed and nodded, slowly extracting himself from her grasp.

"Well, I don't know why all of you are sad," Rachel stated after a few moments, "I mean, there's no way it can get _worse _from this year, so it could only get better, and frankly –"

"Rachel, just _shut up _for the day, okay, and let us actually _enjoy _your company instead of us all wanting to strangle the voice out of you," Kurt smirked, nudging Rachel in the side.

Rachel glared at him before laughing and rolling her eyes, plopping herself in the seat next to him.

They all chatted together, making plans for the summer and just enjoying their company for the hour or so they had left together.

"Alright, guys!" Mr. Shue said as he walked into the room. "Today's our last day! Hopefully next year we'll –"

Mr. Shue broke off as a knock sounded on the door. All of their heads turned as it creaked open, and in poked a head full of gelled hair and glowing hazel eyes.

"Blaine!" Rachel called, waving him over. "Come on!"

"Umm…alright," Mr. Shue went on. "Blaine, here is…Actually, I'm sorry, I don't know why you're here on the last day of school."

Blaine laughed but nodded as he went to sit next to Kurt, ignoring the huff Rachel sent his way after rejecting her offer. "I'm Rachel's brother," he said, "My school let out last week, and she and Kurt said I could join you for a day."

"Oh, well, okay," Mr. Shue said. "Now, does anyone want to sing anything since it's the last day?"

Rachel's hand, predictably, shot up. Kurt rolled his eyes and turned to Blaine so that they could scoff at her together, but his eyebrows shot up when he saw Blaine's hand in the air. He was smirking at Rachel, a challenge playing on his lips.

Kurt smiled, because this was sibling rivalry at its finest.

"Oh, um," Mr. Shue's eyes darted between the two of them, obviously conflicted. "Rachel, why don't we let Blaine sing since he's the guest –"

"Mr. _Shue," _Rachel whined. "It's the last day of class! I want to sing my standard –"

"And you will," he assured her. "Just let's let Blaine go first."

Rachel huffed again before slumping in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. Kurt laughed and patted her gently on her knee before reaching over to his other side and squeezing Blaine's arm in encouragement.

_What was that?_ Kurt asked, and _why _was his face blushing? All he'd done was squeezed Blaine's arm, but he could have _sworn _there was a little more muscle there than a few weeks ago, and _oh god _what if Blaine was working out, what if he got even _bigger _arms and –

Kurt needed to stop.

"Um, okay," Blaine coughed awkwardly and cleared his throat. Kurt could tell that he was a little out of his element, but Blaine _was _part Berry. He wouldn't pass up a chance to perform. "This is just a little something I've been singing or a while, so…okay."

And then Blaine walked over to where Brad was sitting, said something to him that Kurt strained to hear but couldn't, and then sat down at the piano.

Oh. Kurt didn't really know he could play the piano. He figured, considering the Anderson-Berry's had several pianos in their house but…it never really _occurred _to him.

_I've heard there was a secret chord  
>That David played, and it pleased the Lord<br>But you don't really care for music, do you?_

Kurt felt his jaw drop a little. He'd heard Blaine sing before, of course. It was hard to spend so much time with someone who loved to sing and _not _hear them. But this – he'd never heard Blaine sing like _this _before.

_It goes like this  
>The fourth, the fifth<br>The minor fall, the major lift  
>The baffled king composing Hallelujah<em>

Hallelujah, Hallelujah  
>Hallelujah, Hallelujah<p>

Kurt glanced around at the rest of the room. The small amount of members seemed impressed – if not a little envious. Which was understandable._  
><em>

_Baby I have been here before  
>I know this room, I've walked this floor<br>I used to live alone before I knew you.  
>I've seen your flag on the marble arch<br>Love is not a victory march  
>It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah<em>

Kurt wasn't sure, but he swore Blaine made eye contact with him at this part. He didn't know if he was referring to their shared struggles. Love wasn't – at least to the rest of the world – a victory march for them. Or maybe he was talking about how they both hadn't really felt whole until they met each other. _Or maybe he's talking about how you love each other,_ Kurt thought. _In the friendship way, of course._

_Hallelujah, Hallelujah_  
><em>Hallelujah, Hallelujah<em>

_There was a time when you let me know_  
><em>What's really going on below<em>  
><em>But now you never show it to me, do you?<em>  
><em>And remember when I moved in you<em>  
><em>The holy dove was moving too<em>  
><em>And every breath we drew was Hallelujah<em>

Blaine's eyes were closed as he sang, his fingers moving against the piano in a well-practiced tandem. Kurt glanced at Rachel, her face one of familiarity and a hint of awe, like she hadn't seen Blaine sing like this before either.

It was like it was coming straight from his soul, like it had a meaning and message and purpose.

_Hallelujah, Hallelujah  
>Hallelujah, Hallelujah<br>Hallelujah, Hallelujah_

The piano notes slowly started to fade. Kurt watched as Blaine took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, the pure hazel meeting Kurt's own.

They held each other's gaze as Blaine nodded towards the clapping club and made his way back to his seat.

"Blaine," Kurt whispered as Rachel got up and started her pre-song ramble. "That was – you were…" He trailed off, unable to even _find _the words to describe Blaine.

Because despite Blaine's cracky, changing voice, it was probably the best Kurt's ever heard anyone sing.

Blaine blushed his head, ducking his head as they fell quite to listen to Rachel sing _Don't Rain on My Parade _for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Am I coming over after school today?" Kurt murmured after about a minute of Rachel's belting.

"I was thinking I could come to your house," Blaine replied. "Rachel's having some kind of dinner with my dads. I think they're giving her the boy talk, personally."

Kurt snickered and rolled his eyes.

"No really," Blaine added. "If we're going to Europe, she's going to be all over the European boys."

Oh. Kurt hadn't thought about that.

He hadn't thought about Blaine with all the cute, attractive foreign boys. Boys with accents and stylish clothes and accents.

But he didn't care. Absolutely not. Blaine could hang out with whoever he wanted to. He could go out with anyone he chose.

"Well my dad's not going to be home," Kurt said. "But I'm sure he'd be fine with it."

"Awesome."

* * *

><p>After Blaine quickly helped Kurt clean his locker so that they could get out of the school without any unfortunate run-ins. They walked to Kurt's house, enjoying the warm air and Kurt finally felt like it was summer.<p>

That also meant that Blaine was leaving soon, but he didn't want to think about that.

Once they were in his house, Kurt plugged a Disney movie into the DVD player in the living room and flopped down on the couch, a bag of Cheese-Its open and nestled between his and Blaine's legs.

"Mmm," Kurt hummed as he rested his head on the back of the couch, closing his eyes for a moment. "It feels like this year went by really fast."

Blaine murmured his agreement, but something seemed off about his voice.

Kurt raised his head and quirked an eyebrow at Blaine, taking a Cheese-It when Blaine offered it to him. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Something's bugging you."

"It's nothing," Blaine murmured. "It's just – next year is going to be so different."

"What do you mean?" Kurt said after he swallowed the cracker. "I mean, you're going to the same school."

"But I'm going to be part of high school this time," Blaine replied. "This year – it was sort of like we were there, but we weren't really part of the high school."

Kurt nodded in understanding, his eyes flicking back to the screen where Belle was just finding the rose in the tower.

"You'll be fine," Kurt told him. "You're Blaine. Everyone loves you, and it's hardly difficult for you to fit in."

"I know," Blaine sighed. "I just wish that I could go to school with you."

Kurt swallowed the lump in his throat. God, he wanted nothing more than to go to the same school as Blaine.

But Blaine was safe at Dalton. He'd had a hard enough life as it was.

Kurt reached over and squeezed Blaine's knee before grabbing another handful of crackers out of the box. "We'll make it work," Kurt said. "We did this year."

* * *

><p>They must have dozed off, because Kurt startled at the sound of the front door opening and closing.<p>

And _of course_ his head was resting on Blaine's shoulder. The other boy's head was cushioned against the back of the couch, slightly shoved between two of the cushions, while Kurt's was facing his neck while resting on his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," his dad whispered when he saw Kurt's groggy face. He didn't really have the energy to move his head, even though he _knew _his dad would tease him about it later.

"No, I –" Kurt cut off to yawn, unconsciously snuffling his face in Blaine's neck as he did so. Blaine made a small murmur before shifting a little, and Kurt felt something tighten around his waist and – oh, wait, that was Blaine's arm.

_They were sleeping and Blaine's arm was wrapped around his waist._

His dad was so, _so _never going to let this one go.

"Just a few more minutes and then I'll make dinner," Kurt murmured as his eyes drooped closed.

"I'll just order Chinese," he replied, walking over to Kurt and rumpling Kurt's hair. "I'll wake you up when it's here."

"Mmkay," Kurt muttered before he buried his head in Blaine's neck and fell back asleep.

* * *

><p>Burt didn't wake them for dinner.<p>

How could he? His son – his son who'd had a rough year, who'd come out to him and suffered through days upon days at a homophobic school, was sleeping and content and he just looked happy.

Burt wasn't going to disturb that.

And, on top of that anyway, he was snuggled up on his sofa with a boy who was equally gay and equally head over heels for him.

Because he was sure that his boy was in love with Blaine, and that Blaine was just as crazy about Kurt.

They were young, Burt knew that, so it was probably good that they hadn't really realized it yet.

But they would eventually.

For now, though, Burt got a little thrill out of knowing something about Kurt that Kurt didn't. Kurt was so independent, so sure of himself. So, when it did finally happen, when Kurt and Blaine did ultimately get together, Burt would have something to rub in his son's face. It wasn't every day he got an opportunity like that.

Burt leant against the wall as he watched his son subconsciously shift further into Blaine's side, soft, quiet snuffling noises coming out of his nose as he practically nuzzled into Blaine's shirt. And Blaine turned a little and wrapped his other arm around Kurt, his head resting on top of Kurt's as he sighed deeply.

Blaine smiled at the two of them. When he would just think about Blaine, he always referred to him as a muffin in his head. He never really knew why until now. Watching him curl himself around Kurt, his curly hair sticking up awkwardly from sleeping on a couch, the word muffin just seemed to apply to him.

He just hoped he never accidentally called him that, because no one could know that Burt Hummel had a soft side.

After a few more seconds of just watching them sleep, Burt smiled again and went towards the phone, calling Blaine's dads to let them know that Blaine was spending the night. He figured he'd have to move them from the couch so they wouldn't be all stiff in the morning, but for now, he just let them sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>*kicky feet*<strong>

**Okay, some klaine snuggles to get us back into the swing of things**

**I'm pretty sure i'm going back to the weekly updates for this fic. So yayy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

**also i'm blogging at darrenshair on tumblr now**

**AND thank you all for not abandoning me. I'm sorry if you forget the plot, but thank you for those who stuck with me during the haitus. **

**Review? I don't know how many of you will still read this, but I love you all and hope you're still around :D**

**See you next week, hopefully!**


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